Life Number Three
by GoldenPeanuts
Summary: She's not the cleverest witch of her age for nothing. So Sirius is back from the veil. Hermione's off to Romania for a getaway with Viktor, but there's someone else on her mind this time. Rated T for later Chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Life Number Three

Chapter 1

As she looked down in amazement at the crumpled heap of a man in front of her, Hermione Granger couldn't quite believe her eyes. Although she had spent each of her lunch hours for the past couple of months in this very room, pointing her wand and hollering innumerable spells at this mysterious veil, she hadn't once managed to produce anything more than a ripple. So long had she been trying without so much as a hint of success that she had completely resigned herself to the fact that it simply wasn't going to happen. Now, in the moment when in all honesty it seemed as though she had achieved her purpose, she was reluctant to have faith in what her eyes were telling her brain.

_Noooononononono_, said the voice in her head. _Blink woman, wake up, get a grip on yourself. I know that it seems you've just brought a dead man back to life, but no, you've got to be kidding, what a ridiculous notion!_

Hermione was a person who clung for dear life to rationality and logic, and this just seemed a little too far fetched – even in the world of witchcraft and wizardry. She'd simply never known, or even read about, any other case where someone had been brought back from the dead. Elixer of life yes, immortalised in a diary yes, saved from death by your mother's love yes, but never this.

Yet as the lithe form of Sirius Black (at least she presumed it was him without having performed a closer inspection yet) lay no more than a metre away from her, the evidence was starting to mount. She could even hear what she thought was faint breathing. She moved slowly and cautiously towards him, having absolutely no notion of what to expect in terms of a reaction from one who had spent the last four years being dead. _Was it really him? The same him? Would he recognise her? Would he be damaged? _

She knew that if it did turn out to be the same Sirius as the one who disappeared into the veil on that terrible day four years ago, then he would be thrilled to be back in the land of the living with his godson and all his friends, but she didn't want to assume anything at this stage.

Moving ever closer she was just about to reach out and touch his back when he spun around, eyes wide. "Watch yourself," he said in a fairly menacing tone. In hindsight this was a perfectly understandable reaction to the situation, but at the time Hermione was startled to say the least and fell backwards onto the floor.

He was completely still and staring at her. The look on his face was one of extreme trepidation and shock (hers probably looked quite the same). His intense grey eyes however were starting to show signs of recognition. She thought about opening her mouth to say something except she didn't want to unnerve him any more than what was already obvious, so she just returned his gaze giving him what she figured was the best possible chance to recognise her and relax a little.

After what seemed an eternity he sputtered, "H..h..hermione?" He raised his eyebrows at the same time as if begging his question to be answered in the affirmative. "Yes Sirius, it's me. Hermione Granger." Although this seemed a much more formal tone that she had ever taken with him before, she wanted to give him every reason to trust that she was indeed herself. "What the bloody hell's going on?"

Every muscle relaxed and he allowed himself to fall back down in a disheveled heap on the floor, satisfied for the moment that he wasn't in immediate danger. _Whatever was going on it couldn't be worse than death, right?_

"Merlin's beard Sirius, I don't even know where to start. I think you're real, you seem real, do you feel real?"

"I certainly feel different to what I did floating around in there." He said pointing his hand in the direction of the veil.

It dawned on her that of course Sirius knew what the veil was. He'd never been in it before, but he knew it existed, and on the day when he fell into it, he probably knew at the time exactly what was going on. That's not to say that the whole ordeal would have been any less painful. Not by a long way, she ventured.

_Ok so let me just turn on my professional auto-pilot here. _

What we should do first is get you to St Mungo's. They've got a much better chance than me of being able to determine what sort of state you're in.

"Living or dead you mean?"

"I don't mean it to sound so cold, but yes. Surely you're just as curious to know as I am?"

"Only if I'm alive." He said in a sombre tone. "If I'm still dead I think I'd rather just wander around in blissful ignorance thanks."

She smiled sympathetically at him and crouched down beside him, getting ready to apparate them both to the emergency department at St Mungo's. She thought she should do him the courtesy of explaining the plan just in case he was still confused.

"I'm going to apparate us to the hospital alright?"

"Yeah alright. I'm ready when you are."

There was no disguising the obvious uncertainty in his voice, but there wasn't much more she could be doing right now to ease his troubled mind, he'd just have to trust her and soon enough he'd realise that she was doing the right thing by him.

-------

When they arrived in the waiting area, the place was a hive of activity. Hermione mused for a moment about the fact that she was standing there with a man she'd possibly just brought back from the dead leaning heavily on her arm, and nobody had even noticed them there.

She walked Sirius slowly up to the counter where they were greeted (too nice a word perhaps) by a nurse, who only looked halfway up from her paperwork and mumbled, "Welcome to St Mungo's. What can we help you with today?"

"Ahem." Hermione cleared her throat, hoping that the woman would look up, recognise him and eradicate the need for her to explain the whole bizarre situation. But no luck. So instead she very calmly stated, "I'd like to admit a patient please."

"What is the nature of his injury?"

"Umm, well undetermined actually, that's why I brought him here."

"Name." She demanded in the same droll tone.

"Ah, Sirius Black."

Ahah, that'd caught the snooty nurse's attention. She looked up with a scowl and replied angrily, "think you're funny do you, using the magical health system as the butt of some horrid practical joke?"

"No maam, I swear to you I am being completely genuine." She tugged on Sirius' sleeve for him to show the nurse his face, in the hope that she might accept the undoubtedly outrageous claim she was making.

Sure enough, the nurse turned a spectacular shade of white, and had to replace herself in her seat, before hollering frantically for a doctor. When the doctor arrived, the nurse was positively shaking with astonishment. Hermione felt quite pleased with herself for dealing with the whole situation with much more dignity than this woman, who looked easily twice her age.

"Doctor this is……….." that was the last straw. It was too much for the nurse. Without uttering another syllable, she fainted.

The doctor looked up immediately to see what the cause of this bizarre turn of events was, and immediately understood what had come over the nurse.

"But you're dead." He said slowly, not in a hurtful way, but rather matter-of-factly.

"Well to tell you the truth I'm a bit over being dead," said Sirius, sounding as exhausted as he looked, but wanting desperately to be taken seriously. "I'm actually hoping that you can prove I'm alive again."

At that moment, Hermione felt a sincere admiration for the man beside her that only came with the distinct feeling of familiarity with his returning character. For what it was worth, she felt and thought that he really was back.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione was getting dangerously close to losing her composure altogether and becoming hysterically excited about the whole situation. Of course it wasn't helping that she was sitting in the waiting area all alone with nothing to occupy her thoughts but her own wildly-running imagination.

As soon as Sirius had gone in for an examination (which was naturally straight away, having caught the doctor's undivided attention immediately) Hermione had sent owls to Remus and Dumbledore, figuring that they were a good place to start and she didn't want to go overboard just yet until she really knew what was going on. She was thinking particularly of Harry, who on one hand would be mortified that he hadn't been the first to be told, but on the other hand would never forgive her if she had gotten his hopes up unnecessarily. She was secretly hoping that as well as being very excited about the events that had taken place that afternoon, the two Professors might both also, as the two most intelligent wizards she knew, be able to shed some light on what the hell had actually happened. Yes she'd been there alright, but she had absolutely no idea how she'd managed to pull this one out of the hat.

Dumbledore was the first to pop into the room with a broad smile on his wise old face, seemingly unperturbed by the craziness of the situation. It never ceased to amaze Hermione the way he always seemed to know what was going on, and so remained completely calm in even the most unnerving circumstances. Remus on the other hand, was a mere mortal (sort of) and hadn't mastered the fine art of disguising his feelings completely. He looked positively awestruck when he arrived just moments later, also with a pop. He looked towards Dumbledore for answers, not Hermione, but rather than being offended by this (for she knew that Remus respected her very much) she was instead both pleased and relieved to have relinquished control of the situation to her old headmaster. Now she was just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.


	2. Chapter 2

Life Number Three

Chapter 2

"Good afternoon Miss Granger," Albus Dumbledore greeted her in the usual way. "Where is the patient?"

"He's just in there being examined, by a Dr Ripley I think he said his name was."

"And what sort of state was he in when he arrived back?"

"Well he was quite shocked, obviously and exhausted, but I didn't see any blood and he wasn't complaining of any particular pain."

Remus had been sitting hunched over in the chair beside Hermione, sort of squinting as he watched their discussion, no doubt trying to figure out if this was some kind of cruel dream. When he found his voice he enquired in a rather serious tone, "Is this even possible? I'm sure I've never heard of anything like this happening before? How did you do it?" He was looking intently at Hermione.

"Well actually I'm not completely sure how it happened. I mean I know what I was doing, but it wasn't anything different to what I've been doing for the last six months, so I've no idea why today turned out so differently."

Remus was well aware of the fact that she'd been trying this for ages, but he was also aware that she'd had not even a hint of success so far, despite all of them putting their heads together to try and solve the riddle. Like Hermione and the others, he had been very excited when she'd first decided it was worth a try, but after six months of disappointment he was sceptical that finally she'd achieved the impossible.

"Ahem, if I may, I think I can shed some light on this undoubtedly baffling circumstance." Dumbledore had been waiting for them to finish. "You see as much as the spells and charms you were using were essential to this process, there is also an element of timing involved in these things, as I'm sure you can both appreciate."

The other two both nodded, and he continued.

"No one knows for sure what pattern time follows in the veil, only that it is a cycle of sorts, just like life out here. My theory is that you were simply there at the right time, my dear, when Sirius was as close to the outside as he could be. It was simply incredibly lucky."

"So you think it's legitimate then?" Inquired Lupin, his face starting to betray an emotion of raw happiness.

"Yes Remus, I believe he's back."

At that, Remus Lupin cracked the widest smile Hermione had ever seen on him and grabbed her in his arms. "You really are the most incredibly clever witch! You've done it! You've brought him back! You should get an Order of Merlin for this you know!"

"My goodness Remus, I'm in a state of complete shock! I can hardly believe it!"

The two were laughing and smiling so much that they hadn't noticed the man who had emerged from the examination room.

"Excuse me, I hate to break this party up but there is a man over here in serious need of some long-awaited attention." Sirius still didn't look great, but it seemed that the doctor giving him a clean bill of health was all he needed to perk up a bit.

"Padfoot!" Remus dashed across the room and enveloped his old friend in the bear hug of the century.

"Moony, it's so incredibly good to see you!" Sirius returned the greeting with a beaming smile. "Don't go getting a big head about it though, cause' it was even better to see Hermione about half an hour ago." He winked at her as he said this and she too rushed over to give him the proper hug that they'd been too distracted for earlier.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough for this." He said with genuine feeling in his voice.

Hermione replied with a tear welling in her eye, "You'll never need to. Having you back will make so many people happy that I'll never need thanking at all."

Dumbledore had been standing by the door letting the three friends have their moment, but when Sirius looked up and saw him, the old man spoke warmly, "Welcome back Sirius, you've missed quite a lot, but you should find things mostly as you remember them here in the land of the living. I'd best get back to the castle, no doubt someone will be looking for me, they always are," he said this with a hint of dry sarcasm. "You three have presumably got several owls to send and many a wonderful story to tell. I'll see you all again, soon enough. Goodnight." And with a nod of his head and a flick of his wand, he was gone.

-------

Hermione's head was positively swimming with all the things she needed to do, but she did manage to control herself enough to walk over to where Dr Ripley was standing filling out Sirius' chart. "Excuse me Doctor?" We were going to take Sirius home now if that's alright? But I was wondering if there are any specific instructions you need to give us regarding his recuperation?"

"Yes, yes, it's most understandable that you'd like to get him home. Might I say thank you very much for allowing me this whole experience, I can't wait to see the look on my wife's face when I'm on the cover of the Daily Prophet tomorrow." Hermione cringed at her first realisation of the media frenzy that was sure to erupt around them now, but she didn't have long to ponder, because Dr Ripley returned from a back room carrying a bag full of potions. He grabbed one out to show it to Hermione. "He'll need to take one of these morning and night for the next week. After that he'll probably need about another fortnight of rest. If he doesn't improve bring him back in, but I think plenty of rest and recovery with family and friends will be all he needs. Just be warned it might take a while before his magic is back to normal. He should be alright as long as he takes it slowly."

"Thank you very much Doctor, you've been most helpful and understanding. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Same to you Miss Granger. Goodbye."

Sirius and Remus gave the Doctor a wave as Hermione rejoined them with the bag of potions in her hand. Sirius looked at the bag and screwed his nose up, knowing that most healing potions were only as effective as they were disgusting.

"Oh go on Pads," chuckled Remus. You've been floating around in that abyss for four years, surely you can handle a couple of potions.

"Yeah haha, you're only laughing because it's not you who has to take them."

Hermione shook her head at the silliness of the two men and made for the door.

"How are we getting home?" asked Sirius, "and more to the point, which home are we going to?"

"We're going to Number Twelve of course," replied Hermione matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry, interjected Remus, "it's quite a bit different to what it was when you were last there. Very few reminders of Black at all actually, apart from all the pictures of you." Sirius could feel the pang of guilt rising, as he was reminded of how much his supposed death must have hurt Harry.

Remus continued, "Harry inherited it, as per your intentions, and once he graduated he moved in there with Hermione, and regularly Ron and Ginny too.

"It's still a bit of a creepy old place when it's dark and quiet," added Hermione, "but it's much more welcoming now."

Now Sirius' head was swimming. It sounded as though he'd missed so very much and every new piece of information needed careful sifting over before he tried to digest the next, otherwise he knew he'd just end up more confused. Harry was naturally his first priority and happiest thought. No doubt he'd been absolutely shattered by the loss of his only remaining family and Sirius hoped that his young man would be more happy than terrified when he saw him again. In truth, he felt a bit ashamed of himself for falling so easily into the veil. He should have been taking more care of himself knowing that Harry depended on him so. He never had been very good at shaking those erratic, impulsive behaviours that crept into his nature when things got tense. That afternoon at the Ministry was a classic example. As soon as he'd heard that Harry had been lured there, all rational thought ceased to pass through his mind and he charged in without really considering what he was dealing with. In the heat of the battle he'd been fighting alongside Harry and that'd felt so great that his concentration had slipped. His vile cousin had hit him with a spell he really could've diverted, had he been in his right mind, and his poor godson would've been saved all the pain and anguish of losing his family, the second time around.

Sirius was drawn from his daydream when Remus and Hermione stopped; apparently they had arrived at the apparition point.

"Alright Remus, you go first with Sirius and I'll follow, just in case."

"Okay boss, just in case I've forgotten after twenty-five years how to apparate properly." Remus raised his eyebrows and shook his head jokingly.

"Oh Remus you know I didn't mean that, I'm just being careful that's all."

"And that's why we love you," he winked and with a 'pop' he and Sirius were gone.

Hermione followed seconds later and when she 'popped' into Number 12 Grimmauld Place she was met with a most hilarious sight. Remus and Sirius were sprawled out on the ground looking like they'd landed very awkwardly and Harry was standing about 5 metres away from them with his mouth wide open and a cup of tea (well that's what it looked like) smashed on the floor in front of him.

Hermione's initial concern was for Harry, the other two could take care of themselves for the minute. "Harry, I know this is all a lot to take in, but you're not dreaming. He is real." She stammered.

Sirius was gingerly picking himself up off the floor and slowly making his way to his gobsmacked godson.

"Harry I promise this isn't a joke. I'm here. I'm back. I'm so sorry."

Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes, Harry moved. Well at least his mouth did. "Sirius?" he whispered, more to convince himself than anyone else.

"Yes Harry." The older man gave his godson a reassuring smile as he moved closer.

When Sirius reached him he put his arms around him and hugged him tight. After a few seconds, realisation sunk in for Harry and he clung to his godfather with all of his strength.

"I can't believe it. This is incredible!" By now the young man was fighting off tears, come to think of it, so was everyone else in the room.

"Merlin Sirius how do you feel? Are you alright? Have you been to the hospital? Who else knows?" Harry's brain seemed to have gone into curiosity overdrive and it was only when he absolutely had to take a breath that Remus had the chance to jump in and say, "Why don't we all go in to the kitchen, perhaps some tea will calm the nerves and we can have a chat."

Hermione nodded in concurrence and Harry led Sirius into the kitchen, still looking at him as though not entirely convinced he was real.


	3. Chapter 3

Life Number Three

Chapter Three

They sat down at the old hardwood table. Sirius was starting to remember this place. It was more familiar to him than he liked, but he had already noticed a few fairly drastic changes for the better, and for now he was happy to be here if this was where his friends and family were.

"Wow, I don't even know where to start," said Harry, rubbing his head. He'd sat himself down across the table from Hermione and gestured for Sirius to take a seat beside him. "How?"

That was always going to be his first question and although Remus had been there when Dumbledore had explained it all, he felt that the only person who should tell the story was Hermione. He looked at her as if giving her instruction to proceed.

"Ummm…well," she began, "as far as we know, and as far as Dumbledore could tell, it was just a bit of really good timing. I was down in the Department of Mysteries as per usual in my lunch break, not doing anything particularly different, and he just sort of fell out.

"So after all that trying, what you really needed all along was split-second good timing?" Harry was understandably a bit baffled by the whole thing.

Remus was busy turning on the kettle and finding the mugs, teabags and milk and then merging them all together most gloriously with a bit of his wandless magic to produce four steaming mugs of tea.

Hermione went on to explain Dumbledore's whole theory as explained to herself, Remus and Sirius just half an hour earlier, and while Remus was content to listen to it the second time over, Sirius was having trouble not falling asleep right there at the table.

"Oh my goodness! Sirius of course you need rest! Just let me race up and put some new sheets on your bed. Nobody's actually slept in there all this time, but we've left it all the same. I guess we must have known you'd come back." She smiled broadly at him, as she hurried out of the room in the direction of the linen cupboard.

He tried to appease her concern for him, "I'm fine really, just a bit tired, I didn't mean to yawn during your story!" But she was already gone.

When Hermione emerged from Sirius' room she was very pleased to see the three men in the lounge room.

"Right, all ready for you sir." She announced with a smile at Sirius. "Now boys, I think we've all had more than enough excitement for one night. It's time for bed. Remus are you going to go home, or should I set up the spare room?"

"No, I'll go home, Tonks'll be home from night shift in a couple of hours and she'll be worried if I'm not there."

At the mention of his cousin, and the implication of intimate living arrangements, Sirius raised an eyebrow, but Remus stopped him before he could ask. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow, if Hermione hasn't beaten me to it. I'll be here first thing in the morning."

"No I wouldn't dream of it, it's your story to tell." Hermione said with a smile.

"Ok then, well goodnight all." Remus waved from the fireplace as he flooed back to the cottage he now shared with Tonks.

"I don't know about you two but I'm exhausted. So I'll see you both in the morning. I'm already looking forward to more catching up." With that Hermione disappeared into her bedroom.

"Merlin Harry," said Sirius when they'd bid Hermione goodnight. "We've got so much to talk about that I feel like we should be sitting up for hours, but I think I'll fall asleep right here if I don't drag myself to bed."

"That's alright," said Harry. "I'm pretty tired myself, and besides, now that we've got a whole lifetime to catch up, there's no need to rush."

At that they both stood up. Sirius took Harry by the shoulders and kissed him on the forehead, before giving him another good hug. "Goodnight my boy."

"Goodnight Sirius, we're all glad to have you back, especially me." Harry patted him on the back and wandered away with a smile.

As Sirius lay down on his familiar old bed, he shut his eyes, praying that he'd wake up in the morning and everything would still be this incredible. Otherwise this would have to be the cruelest dream in history.

-------

At breakfast, Harry, Hermione and Sirius lost no time in continuing where they'd left off the night before.

"So, I've got so many questions but I'm sure you know which one will come first. Voldemort?" Of course that was Sirius' main concern now that he'd seen Harry safe.

"He's gone, said Harry carefully, with equal hints of satisfaction and sorrow. "The final big battle happened in what would've been our seventh year at Hogwarts, except that the school had been closed because of all the drama. I got him in the end with Avada Kedavra. Who would've thought eh, two words could bring down the Dark Lord." Sirius beamed with pride upon hearing that Harry had defeated the worst thing that'd ever happened to the wizarding world.

"We lost a fair few really good witches and wizards though," continued Hermione, sensing that Harry would rather not explain this bit. "Quite a number of people we knew from school, and some that you'd remember too, like Mad-Eye and Charlie Weasley. Of course there were many, many more, but luckily enough the Order itself didn't suffer too many casualties."

Sirius was paying close attention to every word, and had a look on his face that was great relief mixed with a touch of bitterness; perhaps for those who were lost, and perhaps for the fact that he hadn't been around to help. "I'm sorry you're having to dredge up painful memories on my account. And I'm sorry I wasn't there for you all…" he looked at them ashamedly.

"No it's ok, it's an honour to their memory anyway, being able to pass on the stories of how they gave their lives for the greater good of wizardkind," Harry replied with conviction.

"So what state are things in now then? I mean, death eater wise and what not."

"Well there's plenty of them still around," Harry continued. "We did get rid of quite a number of them over the years though, like Lucius Malfoy and your wretched cousin. Neville got her in the end by the way, he would have made his parents very proud. But of course, most of them had children who all got brought up with the same ridiculous ideas, so they're still rallying as though this was only a setback. Apparently there are plenty of others keen to take over Voldemort's mantle. I believe Draco Malfoy is pretty high on the list." At this, Hermione let out an audible shiver and a look of disgust covered her face. Sirius was pleased to see that Hermione hadn't changed that much on the inside, even if her exterior had grown up quite a bit.

"We're pretty confident though, within the Order. Defeating the most powerful wizard on the planet will do that to you. So even though the Aurors are still keeping busy, and we have to keep an eye out when we hear of something in the works, it's pretty quiet most of the time."

"Wow," Sirius was not really capable of much more; at the moment his brain was absolutely bursting. "I can't believe how much I've missed. You know I'll probably still be asking you questions about it twelve months from now." They all chuckled. "That's fine by me," said Harry, "as long as you're still here in twelve months you can ask me whatever questions you like." He jabbed Sirius with his elbow and gave him a grin.

"That's the plan," Sirius said earnestly. "I'm not going to waste my third chance at life."

He looked at them both as though making an oath. Then to smooth over the seriousness of the comment, he added, "after all, I'm a dog not a cat." And the three burst into genuinely happy laughter.

Hermione had finished whipping them up a fabulous looking hot breakfast. She set it down on the table for Harry and Sirius to help themselves and poured herself a coffee. When she'd filled her own plate she tucked in as well, watching as Sirius almost inhaled his breakfast. He was cheery enough, but she had noticed massive bags under his eyes. She remembered the Doctor's instructions and made a mental note to keep a close eye on him all day, just to make sure he wasn't overdoing it.

.

"Well you two are certainly doing alright for yourselves here." Sirius commented, the first time his mouth was free of food – which wasn't for a while.

"And you're obviously out of school now. So tell me, what are you doing with yourselves?"

"Well," began Harry, with a mouth full of toast. "Ron and I are training to be Aurors actually. We spend a couple of days a week at University, studying charms and dark magic and what not, and then the rest of the time we're at the Ministry's Training Academy. It's fun, and always challenging. I'm really enjoying it."

"That sounds great. Good on you both." Although working for the Ministry wasn't Sirius' cup of tea, he admired Harry for being committed enough to fighting Dark Magic to go through all the study and training. No doubt it helped that he had his best mate there beside him.

Sirius then looked towards Hermione, waiting for her to provide the details of her post-school adventures. Rather than talk through a haze of chewing, she finished her mouthful of toast and then began. "Well, I'm not doing anything as adventurous as training to be an Auror, but I'm also working part time for the Department of Mysteries while I'm at Uni. I find it all quite interesting, there's so much to learn. I must admit though, now that I won't be looking forward to creeping down into the basement every lunch hour, I'm not sure it'll sustain my interest for much longer." Her mouth curled into a grin in Sirius' direction.

"Well I certainly am very sorry for robbing you of your primary motivation for showing up at work." Sirius feigned an apologetic look, but his lip started curling in the corner.

Harry was sitting quietly enjoying their banter when Remus flooed in and called out, "good morning residents of Grimmauld!" from around the corner in the living room.

"Morning Moony," called Sirius.

"Morning Remus," called Harry and Hermione.

"Well I almost thought you'd still be in bed Padfoot. Wasn't sure how you'd pull up this morning. Glad to see you smiling, even if you do look like death."

"Fabulous. Do I really look that bad? Nice of someone to tell me," he jokingly glared at Harry and Hermione.

"Sirius, you don't look that bad, just tired." Hermione was trying to avoid the need for him to run in and look at himself in the mirror. "In fact, if we take into account that yesterday you were in fact dead, in the last 24 hours you've made a remarkable improvement." This made him laugh, and the others too.

"It'll be interesting to see if you've made the front page today, old chap. That Doctor up at the hospital certainly seemed to think you would. I suppose he had a hundred gold galleons in his eyes at the very thought of all those interviews." Remus gratefully accepted the cup of coffee that Hermione handed him.

"Well it'll certainly guarantee us a few more visitors than usual," remarked Harry. "I might just go and get changed and then I'll pop over to Diagon Alley and grab a paper."

"Great, count me in!" said Sirius excitedly.

"Ahem, I don't think so Mr Black," Hermione interjected, "there'll be plenty of time for you to visit Diagon Alley all you want in the coming weeks, but for now you really need to follow the Doctor's orders and rest up."

Sirius was remembering the conversation he'd had with Harry last night, about Hermione being very much the motherly type at times. Harry winked at him. "You'd better listen to Mum over there, or Merlin knows she'll put you over her knee!"

"Only if she wants a broken leg," responded the older man. Although nobody could deny the fact that he was really quite skinny looking after so long in limbo.

"No, no. If I'm serious – and obviously I am – about wanting to do things properly in this, my third life, then I shall take the advice of the wise young woman over here," glancing appreciatively at Hermione, "and lie low for a little while. That reminds me actually, isn't there an awful potion I'm supposed to take with my breakfast?"

As if she'd read his mind, Hermione was fossicking through the bag on the bench to find the potion which had a number 1 on it. (She'd been up early labelling them, so that she could keep track and make sure they weren't forgetting them as the days went by.)

"Here you go patient," she handed him the vile with an apologetic but encouraging look on her face and watched as he gulped the liquid in one shot, obviously doing his darnedest not to actually taste any of it. To distract him from what was obviously a most unpleasant experience, she pressed on. "I've numbered them 1 to 14 so we don't forget any. So, one down and only thirteen to go." She was doing her best to make it less painful, and he appreciated her attempts very much.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey all, I decided to re-submit this chapter after I realised that I'd made a mistake calculating years and ages etc. Enjoy!

Life Number Three

Chapter Four

Hermione, Remus and Sirius busied themselves cleaning up after breakfast and before long Harry flooed back from the Leaky Cauldron with the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. The four of them headed to the kitchen once again to see how close Sirius' story had got to the front page. Sure enough, there he was. The picture that the journalist had chosen was unfortunately from his time in Azkaban, since that was the last time the media had seen him. It shocked them all into the realisation that technically he was still an escaped convict. Although his innocence had been proved beyond certainty after the demise of Voldemort and the capture of Peter Pettigrew, since Sirius had been dead, nobody at the Ministry had bothered about an Official Decree of Freedom. Immediately the cogs started in Hermione's head, trying to figure out the fastest route to take to obtain this document.

"When I go in to work this afternoon I'll organise an appointment for you to see the Minister. I don't think Kingsley will mind a catch up, and I'm sure he'll help with the process of getting you 'officially cleared'."

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That afternoon Kingsley was - as expected - most eager to help and even more eager to see the recently returned. When Hermione owled Sirius, he turned up with Remus in tow about an hour later, having gone to some trouble to put on a fresh set of robes, retrieved from his old cupboard. His hair was lovely and clean looking, although Hermione continued, after all these years, to have some reservations about the length of it.

"Merlin Sirius, it's good to see you back," the Minister for Magic exclaimed, shaking his hand warmly. "And how are you Remus? Is that rainbow-haired wonder still keeping you in line?" Remus smiled bashfully. "I'm very well thank you Kingsley."

"So, as for the matter of your freedom papers, Sirius. It will take a few days for them to be processed but by the end of the week you'll have a certificate fit for hanging that declares you a free man. I've already started the ball rolling and I'll be happy to deliver the package myself when I come for the Order meeting on Thursday night. In the meantime, feel free to go about your daily business in the usual way (this made Sirius laugh – what usual way?)

"Thank you Kingsley. It's been a good nineteen years since I could wander the streets like a civilised person, I'm not sure what to do with myself actually."

"Perhaps the pub first then?" suggested Remus with a grin, "and we'll figure out the rest later."

Hermione shook her head at the idea of going to a pub when it was only 3:30 in the afternoon, but given the circumstances she decided to push these disapproving thoughts to the back of her mind where they wouldn't spoil the fun. "I'll owl Harry, Ron and Tonks and let them know we'll be at the Three Broomsticks – they should be finished work soon and they can come and meet us."

"You're full of good ideas you are Hermione," said Sirius, flashing her an approving smile.

She was so heartened to see him happy that she could almost feel a tear welling in the back of her eye. _Pull yourself together woman, man up a bit._

When Hermione had sent the mail owl on its way, they made tracks for Hogsmeade. Sirius hadn't been there (in his human form) since before Azkaban, and he was walking a bit faster than the other two in his excitement.

When they walked in to The Three Broomsticks, there were a few noticeable gasps, one from Madam Rosmerta behind the bar. "The rumours are true then," the gypsy-looking woman had a glint in her eye, "welcome back Sirius."

"Thank you Madam, I'm very glad to be here again." The rest of the pub crowd were a mix of horrified, indifferent and completely oblivious. There were a few who left, presumably a little concerned that there was trouble afoot, but most simply returned to their drinks and conversations.

"This looks cosy," said Remus, pointing to a nearby table that was just being cleaned by a charmed cloth.

"After you," Sirius gestured to Hermione to sit down. As much as she liked hanging out with Harry and Ron, Hermione had to admit that she did quite enjoy company of a more gentlemanly variety. It wasn't half as awkward as it could have been.

Remus got up to get the first round of drinks and Sirius and Hermione sat looking out through the window at the village of Hogsmeade. Sirius was pointing out all the shops that he'd never seen before and Hermione was doing her level best to inform him of what they all were. Although there were some very new additions that even she didn't recognise.

"Here we go," said Remus, as he set the three pints of butterbeer down in the middle of the table.

"To long life and good friends," Sirius proposed the toast and the three clinked their glasses together before taking their first fabulous gulp. By the time Harry and Ron arrived at the pub, the others were on their third round, and were all rather happy. "Wow, you haven't changed a bit…incredible!" Ron half-mouthed, half-spoke as he extended a handshake to Sirius. "Alright," said Harry obviously amused by Ron's bewilderment, "the next round's on me, what are you all drinking?"

"Just butterbeer, said Remus, "thank God you're here Harry. I'm on my way to bankruptcy trying to keep these two fish drinking."

Hermione frowned, "Remus I offered to pay for the last round, but you refused to take my money."

Sirius looked sheepish. "I believe I'm the guilty party here, but I haven't got any money. Otherwise, you know me, I'd be throwing it around." Harry was overcome with a look of sincere guilt. How had it not occurred to him that he had all of Sirius' money? Of course his godfather hadn't asked for it back, but it was his after all, and Harry hadn't even thought of lending him a few gold pieces.

"Oh Sirius, I can't believe I've been keeping you in the poor house! I'm so sorry, it hadn't even occurred to me that I've got all your money!"

"That's alright," he said. "I haven't needed it until now anyway, and besides, it's kind of nice having someone else buy me a few beers!" He shot Remus a devilish grin.

"Alright," said Harry, "when I get back from the bar we'll talk Gringotts." He turned and made a bee-line for Madam Rosmerta, with Ron in tow.

When Tonks came round the corner Sirius jumped up to give her a huge hug. "You haven't changed a bit – still the most bizarre looking woman in the room!" Sirius quipped. "Haha, like you can talk you shrivelled old man!" Tonks had so missed their verbal jousting. She gave him another big smile and looked him up and down. "I'm glad you're back cousin. The only man to have ever actually come back from the dead." Remus and Hermione couldn't help but feel another wave of happiness and good fortune at the situation before them.

"So how was work?" Tonks had slid into the booth alongside Remus, and he was enquiring after her day. "Same old, same old, nothing very exciting going on in the Auror Department at the moment, although the whole place was buzzing just after lunch when word spread round that you three had been there visiting Kingsley," she eyeballed her cousin and Hermione on the other side of the table.

"Ooh, any good gossip about us then?" inquired Hermione eagerly. "Well there were a couple of older wizards who sounded a bit suss on the whole thing, but all the young crowd thought it was an absolute miracle. I even saw some of them ordering extra copies of the Prophet citing that it was a collector's item!"

At this idea, they all laughed soundly as Harry and Ron returned with the drinks. Harry sat down in the seat beside Sirius and Ron was in beside Tonks. Harry started to ask his Godfather how his meeting at the Ministry had gone, but Sirius was momentarily distracted by a look of affection that Ron was sending in Hermione's direction. He refocussed on the conversation with Harry just in time to reply – he hoped appropriately so as not to give away his distraction – with, "Well it all went pretty smoothly really. Kinglsey was great about it and assured us that all the necessary paperwork would be taken care of."

"That's great news. So later in the week you should hit the papers again, but with a much more flattering photo." As Harry said this he grinned and raised his glass in Sirius' direction like a small salute.

"Impossible!" Cried Remus, followed by raucous laughter.

Sirius smiled at the thought of his name finally being restored to some level of respectability. Suddenly a group of middle-aged men burst through the door exclaiming, "There, I told you! Criminal on the loose!" Sirius didn't have to look at them to know exactly who they were pointing at, he had grown quite used to being ridiculed. As a roar of disapproval went around the room he felt a longing for Grimmauld – something that didn't come on lightly. He got to his feet and apparated. While the others had started shouting at the crowd defending Sirius' innocence, Hermione was more worried about the man himself. The doctor's warning about his use of magic was ringing in her ears and she hoped that he'd gone to Grimmauld, because that was the only place she could think of to follow him to. The others hardly noticed the 'pop' as she left the building. When she arrived she was relieved to find Sirius on the floor in front of her, but not at all relieved to see the state he was in. He was curled up and trembling. She assumed that this was just the draining effect of his first use of magic in so long.

She knelt down beside him and patted his back so as not to startle him. "Sirius, are you alright? How do you feel?"

"Uuuhh that was silly of me………..wasn't it? I can't really move…………….. I don't feel like I have any energy. It doesn't hurt though and it's certainly not as bad as staying in that pub with all those wretched morons howling about me."

She offered him a genuine and apologetic smile on the behalf of the rude people and she hoped that he realised that she didn't approve of them in the slightest. "Why don't I try and help you up. Once we get you on the couch I'll go and fix an restoration potion that should make you feel a bit better."

He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for this……some mates the other lot are. If you weren't here I'd have nobody to look after me."

The two of them both put all of their energy into getting to the couch. It was a bit of a struggle getting off the floor, but once that hurdle had been negotiated it was a smooth couple of steps and a flop at the end.

Hermione adjusted her hair, which had been a bit messed up in the excitement and then said to him with a very serious look on her face, "Right well don't you go anywhere and I'll be back in a minute with your potion." She grinned cheekily at the end just to make sure that he realised she was having a go at him……she was aware of her reputation for being a bit uptight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey all! Thank you very much to those of you who've reviewed. I'm glad I'm not the only one enjoying myself  **

Life Number Three

Chapter Five

Hermione was in the kitchen busily preparing a restoration potion for Sirius when the others appeared in the fireplace, fresh from their brawl at The Three Broomsticks. It appeared that all of them, including Tonks, had engaged in the scuffle, as they each looked similarly dishevelled. Harry was the first to speak up, "Sirius are you alright? Those bastards got what they had coming to them, although I do feel a bit sorry for Madam Rosmerta, having to clean up all that broken glass."

"Yeah, they'll feel like right gits later in the week when they find out you've been cleared of all charges by the Ministry." Remus even sounded guilty, and no doubt was trying to justify his actions in his own head.

"Well I feel like arse, but I am glad you gave them what for. Hermione's looking after me; she's just gone to the kitchen to cook up some kind of potion I think. It was too soon to apparate, I knew it but I just had to get out. At any rate you don't need to worry about a repeat performance because I've decided I'll just stay here until word spreads about my innocence, I don't have the energy for another one of those encounters."

"Well on the bright side," added Tonks, "I 'm sure Kingsley will get it all sorted as soon as he can and in the meantime you can rest up properly so that when the time comes you'll be right and ready for a good bit of celebrating."

Sirius smiled, albeit weakly, at the suggestion.

"Don't you all look a sight for sore eyes?" Hermione appeared from the kitchen with a potion in her hand and a smile on her face. She had originally intended for it to be a disapproving frown but the sight of them all and the knowledge that they'd no doubt spent the last few minutes defending Sirius' honour, made her change her mind.

As Sirius drank his potion his face screwed up as though he'd just eaten an entire lemon, which gave them all a little chuckle. But he knew it'd make him feel better, even if it did taste just awful.

"So, since a pub meal is out of the question now, what say you all to homemade pizza, a la Moony and Tonks?"

"That'd be awesome!" Ron was the first to voice his approval of the suggestion, which was often the case when food was in question.

"Yeah I'd never knock back your pizza, it's the best!" Harry chimed in.

"That's settled then," said Tonks. "We'll get ourselves cleaned up and then gourmet delights all round!"

They all spread themselves out across the four bathrooms of the house and each emerged looking much less grubby than before. Harry and Ron changed into clean shirts because they could, Remus washed the dirt off his face that'd been accumulated while wrestling, and Tonks cleaned her hands so that her knuckles no longer held traces of some silly sod's broken nose. Hermione, having not been involved in all the messiness, helped Sirius into the kitchen where the others soon joined them.

Keen for some light-hearted conversation, Harry thought he'd bring up a subject that had been briefly broached the previous evening but never properly dealt with. "So Remus, weren't you going to tell Sirius about how you and Tonks got together?" Remus turned a warm shade of crimson, which made his girlfriend laugh and the others giggle. "Yes, thank you very much Harry for reminding me, heaven knows it'd completely slipped my mind."

"Awww Moony," Tonks couldn't help but love him even more when he was nervous. "Why don't I tell them the abbreviated version?"

"Yes please," he replied softly with a smile only for her.

"Well it was all a big game of cat and mouse really, of course he was the mouse and I was the cat. Kept feeding me some bullshit about not wanting to hurt me and my needing someone better than a werewolf." By now Remus was very red and concentrating harder than ever before on making pizza, just to avoid having to look anywhere else.

"In the end though he came to his senses and decided that it was better being a pair of weirdos together rather than a lonely werewolf and a lovesick metamorphmagus. And since then it's been domestic bliss really, hasn't it darling?" She grinned in his direction.

"Well yes I suppose you could say bliss," he replied sarcastically, receiving in return a disapproving, wide-mouthed expression from the witch beside him. "I'm only kidding, you know that! I can't have my best mate thinking I've turned into a pile of romantic mush while he's been away."

"There, there Moony, you were showing signs of this sort of behaviour from a very young age. I totally saw it coming," Sirius teased.

They all laughed, knowing that Remus and Tonks really were very happy.

Sirius was glad to see his friend happily matched up with someone who he obviously adored and respected very much, and he was also glad to see his dear cousin being taken care of by a man he held in higher esteem than anyone else. He couldn't help but be a little jealous of their situation though. He had lost so much time in his life that he sincerely doubted he'd ever catch up. By the time he found someone to share his life with, his life would be almost over. And then there was the concern of whether or not there would actually be anyone out there who wanted to share a life with him. He certainly had a very colourful past, and he wasn't sure that anyone who hadn't been involved in it all would even understand, or want to understand.

Go on Black, stop being so melodramatic. You've just returned from the dead, geez perk up a bit eh?

Turning his attention to Harry, something that never failed to cheer him up, he asked a bold question. "So Harry, tell me, is there a special witch in your life that I should be aware of? I wouldn't want to bump into her in the hallway or something and frighten her." Harry chuckled and blushed a little before answering. "Well yeah actually there is, and you already know her, but that doesn't mean you should go poking around the hallways in your underwear or anything."

"Harry's been dating Ron's sister Ginny for quite a while now." Hermione smiled widely as she interjected, obviously very happy about the situation herself.

"Is that right, well there you go." Sirius also seemed quite pleased at the announcement. "Molly must be thrilled. She always was trying to adopt you into the family."

"Yeah, Harry gets better presents than me at Christmas now." Ron joined the conversation, faking a hurt expression.

"Ginny's still at Hogwarts though. She's finishing her final year. When the school was closed we all lost a year, so we graduated last year but she hasn't quite finished. Her graduation is in about a month actually, and we're all invited. You'll have to come along too and check the place out again."

"Sounds great to me. You'll just have to remind me about it or I'll forget. I'm still the same old Sirius in the head I'm afraid."

By then, dinner was ready. "Here we go," Tonks placed the last tray down on the table and gestured for everyone to dig in.

While they were eating Sirius was sure that he saw another look exchanged between Ron and Hermione. Nobody else seemed to notice it though. Perhaps this was normal, for all he knew there certainly could be a relationship going on between them. Just because these things hadn't been spoken about in the last 24 hours, didn't mean they weren't happening.

He passed it off as a symptom of his current state of health, but something irked him about that idea. Odd, because he quite liked Ron, and Hermione had certainly proved in the last day that she could take care of herself, and an entire household for that matter.

"So Sirius," Harry's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "We should go to Gringotts tomorrow and sort out your finances." He didn't really know how to reply to this. Yes, he needed some money, but he felt a bit bad for taking it from Harry. "Don't worry, you know how much Mum and Dad left me, and I'm actually getting paid pretty well while I'm training with the ministry. So as much as I'd like to keep the entire fortune of the house of Black, it's yours and I'll gladly return it to you. It's not going to send me bankrupt or anything."

"Alright, but you know I'm always good for a loan if you want one."

"Really," Ron chimed in, "well actually I've been eying off the new Firebolt………" They all laughed.

"So, a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow it is." Remus was refilling glasses of butterbeer as he spoke.

"It'd have to be a quick trip," added Hermione with an air of concern.

Sirius gave her a reassuring smile. "Actually could we reschedule for later in the week? I don't want a repeat of tonight's performance. And if I'm not going out then I won't need it just yet anyway."

"That's fine," said Harry, quiet happily, "whenever suits."

Hermione smiled to herself. She wasn't trying to mother Sirius, she just wanted him to be healthy again. She hoped that he wasn't getting fed up with her and her restrictions.

Redirecting the topic of conversation, Sirius inquired after Hogwarts. He assumed that if Ginny was still there then they were still in pretty close contact with the place, and he was very keen to know about any changes, although secretly he hoped there hadn't been any. In the same way that Hogwarts had been a haven for Harry, it had also been the only place he truly felt at home when he was growing up. So they spent the next hour or so swapping stories and giving opinions on the castle, the grounds, the people there, the people who weren't there any more, etc. Remus explained to Sirius that Dumbledore had asked him to return next year as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a job which he had willingly accepted, having no good reason not to and a sincere desire to be purposeful again.

Sirius pondered for a moment on how boring Remus' life must have been for the last year or so, and indeed how frustrated his very intelligent friend must have become, having nothing to do but hope that new laws would be passed making it easier for Werewolves to be gainfully employed. Dumbledore had always thought it a very good move to have Lupin on his staff the first time around, and it was only the intervention of vile Lucius Malfoy that had made it unviable. So, the return of Professor Lupin to Hogwarts was eagerly anticipated by all. That only left Sirius to wonder what on earth he would do to occupy himself when the time came for everyone else to go to work and for him to stay home. He'd never really had a job before. When he was younger he'd never needed one and was far too enthusiastic about mischief to take on any proper responsibility. When he'd escaped from Azkaban he went into hiding, which once again made employment impossible. He thought grimly about how his resume would read to any prospective employer.

Sirius Orion Black

Age: 39 (depending on whether or not you count the years I've been dead)

Work history: nil

Work experience: nil

Time spent in incarceration: 14 years

Yes, that's right, every employer in Wizarding London would be jumping up and down to secure his services.


	6. Chapter 6

Life Number Three

Chapter Six

Wednesday was fairly uneventful. Remus and Sirius hung around the house all day, playing chess, reading in the library, mucking around with a football in the backyard. Harry and Hermione went out to uni and work. Ron was over for dinner, and so was Tonks after her night shift. Hermione had been making sure Sirius was taking his potions, although being quite keen to recover, he didn't need much reminding, and his condition was slowly but surely improving. Some colour had returned to his face and he seemed brighter during conversations and less exhausted generally.

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Thursday arrived with some anticipation, as that evening would be the first Order meeting since Sirius' return; that meant two fairly exciting things. One, there would be a bit of a party at Grimmauld tonight, and two Kinglsey would be there, hopefully with Sirius' papers.

The day seemed to drag almost painfully. Harry had no classes so he, Ron, Remus and Sirius spent most of the morning planning the things that they could do in the next few days, with Sirius being a free man and all. Apart from the visit to Gringotts and a bit of good old-fashioned shopping in Diagon Alley, the only other activity that they decided they simply must fit in was the next home game for the Chudley Cannons. Ron consulted the team draw (which he kept in his backpack and occasionally under his pillow) and announced that this week they were playing away against Puddlemere United, but next Sunday afternoon they were back at home against Wimbourne.

After lunch Harry and Ron had to go in to work, and Sirius headed upstairs for a lie down. Remus was in the study, reading the latest addition to his collection, 'Werewolves: Epidemic or Evolution?' As much as he rated most books like these as a load of guff, he did like to stay in touch with the current theories and research, he thought it only responsible.

At about 3 o'clock Hermione arrived home from work, and with her was Mrs Molly Weasley, come to set up for tonight's little do. "Heeellllooooo! Anybody home?" Molly made her way straight to the kitchen, with her bundles of groceries, and she was about to repeat her rather noisy salutation when Sirius walked into the room, looking like a man who'd just woken up.

"Well would you look at you?" Molly, looking very pleasantly amazed, placed her bags on the table and went over to give Sirius a big hug. The two of them had often had disagreements of ideology in the past, mainly in regard to the safe and responsible guardianship of Harry. Sirius was well aware of her opinion on the matter and although it did upset him, he could see her point in hindsight. Luckily enough for the both of them though, Harry was now big enough and ugly enough to take care of himself, which meant that the primary cause for friction between Sirius and the Weasley matriarch was no longer an issue. "It's good to see you Sirius, really good. And you're looking well, all things considered."

"Thanks Molly, I'm glad to be home. You look just as bubbly as ever." Sirius smiled warmly at her. Hermione, who was still standing just inside the doorway, mused on the fact that Sirius seemed much more like an adult this time around, as evidenced in the way he was conducting conversation with Mrs Weasley; he seemed more mild of manner and even-tempered. She and Sirius helped Molly unpack the bags and set all the grocery items out on the table. It certainly looked as though tonight's dinner was going to be a feast of epic proportions – awesome!

Molly explained that she'd heard the story of Sirius' return from Arthur, who'd heard it from Ron, and all in all she found the whole happening quite remarkable. She praised Hermione for being so stupendously clever, and Sirius for finally being in the right place at the right time for a change - the latter with a hint of sarcasm of course.

Once all of the unpacking was done, Hermione ducked upstairs to get changed, but on her way past the study she popped her head in to ask Remus to go straight to the kitchen if he heard any shouting. He chuckled at the idea of having to break up another fight between his old friend and the defiant red head, and thought he might go down and join them, just to see how things were travelling. As he approached the door he listened closely to what was going on within, just out of curiosity. He could hear Molly talking about Harry and Ginny and how happy she was that they'd finally got themselves sorted. "I mean," she was saying, "they never seemed unhappy before, but they do both seem so much happier now, so much more contented. Ah young love. Ron and Hermione could do with a dose of it themselves, not that Ronald could be counted upon to pull his finger out. But that darling girl, she deserves to be happy, not whipping away every few months for a sojourn with a boy who's too wrapped up in his own sporting career to spend quality time with her."

At this point Remus thought he should enter and stem the flow of gossip from Molly's mouth. He didn't really think that Sirius would have any particular interest in the private goings on of his godson and young friends. If he had of been able to read the man's mind though, at that very moment he would have noticed it was full of curiosity about this seemingly unsatisfactory relationship of Hermione's.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you're taking the liberty of filling Sirius in on the private lives of the younger members of the household." Remus smiled knowingly at the older woman. "I thought I'd better come in and stop you from saying anything that might get you in trouble later. Merlin knows it wouldn't be the first time." He grinned at Sirius, willing him to imagine Molly trying to defend herself against an onslaught from lovesick teenagers demanding their privacy. Sirius smiled cheekily in return and added, "Now Molly, that doesn't sound like you at all!"

"Oh haha," she retorted, waving a kitchen knife at them. "I'll have you both know that my romantic advice is quite often helpful, and it's not for either of you to judge anyway, you're not exactly pillars of love and commitment yourselves." She eyeballed Remus. "It was only in the absence of this one," gesturing to Sirius, "that you finally surrendered to that lovely woman of yours, if I recall correctly. Best decision you've ever made in my opinion. And as for you Mr Black," she turned to face Sirius this time. "Now that you're presumably back for good, you'd better get a wriggle on and dust off that charm of yours, otherwise you'll be all wrinkly and the pretty young things won't want a bar of you."

"Ummm thank you Molly, sound advice." Sirius replied, tongue-in-cheek. As happy as he was for Harry to have found a nice girlfriend, he couldn't help but feel ever so slightly sorry for him on the basis of his prospective mother-in-law.

Hermione re-entered the room to see if she could help with anything and inquired as to what they'd been talking about, to have left the two men looking a bit grave, and Molly a little heated.

"Oh nothing much dear. I was just advising Sirius that he'll need to prepare himself for putting a little more effort into his lady catching, now that he might actually want to find one to hang on to for more than five minutes."

Sirius was looking a little embarrassed this time, oddly enough. He wasn't particularly proud of his dating record, not the names on it, or the fact that it was several pages long. But there was something especially unnerving about his dirty washing being hung out to dry in front of Hermione. He knew it would not improve her opinion of him, but why would that be such a concern?

Hermione felt a little embarrassed for him too. As much as she loved Molly like a second mother, the woman was anything but discrete. Hermione had heard enough stories about Sirius being a bit of a ladies-man in his younger years, mostly from Molly come to think of it, but she hadn't seen that side of him, and she was quite convinced that he was genuine about really wanting to start afresh. She was glad for it. While she didn't like to judge, given her own romantic entanglement, she didn't really agree with throwing ones self around quite that liberally. Her relationship with Viktor wasn't ideal, but she was at least faithful to him, and was fairly sure that he was as well.

Thankfully, Molly and Remus seemed to become aware of the discomfort as well and immediately Molly put all three to task helping her to prepare dinner. Hermione was in charge of the tiny pastry entrees with bacon, onion and cheese filling; Remus was in charge of breaking up the chicken into suitable pieces for easy roasting; and Sirius was given the job of cutting up the lamb for the curry. Although he never liked being told what to do, especially by Molly, he was glad for the attention to have been diverted from his disastrous love life, and happy for the chance to contribute to the evening as more that just the leading topic of conversation.

Before long, all the dishes were well on their way to completion under the expert supervision of the wife and mother of seven – who had had plenty of experience cooking for large parties. When Ron and Harry arrived home from work the house was full of the sumptuous aromas of the upcoming meal, and they were very happy indeed about that. The other Order Members weren't due for about another half-hour, so the two of them headed upstairs to get showered and changed so as not to miss anything, especially not the entrees.

Sirius had to go and change also as he'd splashed a bit of curry on his shirt during a routine stir. Remus jibed him at the time about becoming more like Tonks as the years went by. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion.

So, while they waited to be rejoined by the rest, Remus poured several glasses of elderflower wine – perfect for special occasions such as this - and judging by the amount of it in the cellar downstairs, the Black's must have been saving them up for quite a celebration indeed. Molly sat down, now that the cooking was looking after itself (bless those charmed utensils), and began to speculate about who would in fact turn up this evening. No doubt prior engagements would have been shifted by some of the more busily occupied members, owing to the guest of honour and the marvel of his presence.

Sirius, Ron and Harry came downstairs after about Hermione's third sip. She thought they all looked very dapper in their 'just a bit smarter than casual' clothes, particularly Sirius who had put on a pair of dark blue jeans and a dark brown sweater. _Hang on, what?_ The wine was clearly going to her head. Was she checking out Sirius? She moved her glass further into the middle of the table to encourage a bit more breathing and possibly some eating before she took the next sip. When the doorbell rang a couple of minutes later, Sirius started looking a bit nervous. She nudged him in his seat beside her and said quietly, "The rest of us may as well all go to bed now, because they'll only want to talk to you, you know."

He smiled, appreciating her attempt to calm his nerves, and replied just as quietly; "Well you'd better stay close by then, because you're much better at telling the story than I am. I just fall asleep, remember?" Now it was Sirius who was feeling a bit light-headed. Had he just flirted with Hermione? _Oh Merlin_. They both giggled inanely hoping the other was oblivious to their embarrassment, and hopped up to go to the door with the others. While nobody else was looking, Hermione snuck over and tipped her glass of wine down the sink. She'd had more than enough of that for one evening it seemed!


	7. Chapter 7

Life Number Three

Chapter Seven

The flow of guests through the door was steady for about the next 15 minutes. Dumbledore was first – always very punctual, particularly when an outing was on the cards. The expression on his face upon seeing Sirius wasn't half as dumbstruck as the others, owing to the fact that he had of course seen him on the very night of his return, up at St Mungo's.

"Sirius, dear boy, how are you recovering?" the older man inquired.

"Professor," the two shook hands warmly, "I'm feeling much better already thank you. Miss Granger is quite the nurse and she's been keeping a close eye on me."

Dumbledore looked towards Hermione and winked his approval. And Sirius gave her a warm appreciative smile. In return, Hermione blushed furiously and suddenly became very interested in what was happening behind them; so much so that she had to immediately hurry over to greet Tonks who, to Hermione's great relief, was rushing through the entrance way with her usual flare. As soon as their initial salutations were done with, Hermione tugged Tonks by the elbow out of the hallway and into the kitchen, where people were starting to mill around. This suspicious behaviour did not pass unnoticed by the slightly older friend, who immediately inquired as to what on earth the matter was. In reply Hermione just said, fairly unconvincingly, that she thought she heard Molly call for help. Tonks shook her head at the blatant fibbing but was swept into conversation with Molly before she could delve any further into the matter.

Out in the hall, the guests kept wandering in. Sirius had noticed Hermione's earlier discomfort, which made him feel awful and awkward. He was obviously weirding her out and needed to stop now before doing their otherwise very civilised friendship permanent damage. Neville Longbottom and his fiancé Luna Lovegood were the next to greet him as they entered. The young man had decided to follow in his parents' footsteps and join the Order of the Phoenix a short time before the final battle, which he had been heavily involved in. As for Luna, she too had played an instrumental part in the epic victory, and now that she and Neville were engaged, she had joined as well.

Hermione was glad to have another girl in the crowd to chat with. Putting a bit of distance between herself and Sirius was her plan, at least until the bizarre effects of the wine wore off. Besides, she was most eager to hear about how the wedding plans were going. Having been otherwise occupied this week, she hadn't had a chance to catch up with friends outside the house much at all. A couple of owls to and from Ginny were the only other outside communication she'd had.

Ron's brother Bill came in next, with his fairly pregnant wife Fleur, and Mr Weasley as well, straight from the Ministry. "Welcome back Sirius!" beamed Bill, and Fleur flashed him a matching Veela smile that could've melted his evening right then and there. Arthur shook his hand fervently, praising Hermione, and the mysterious ways of magic, for bringing him back.

While Sirius was certainly enjoying seeing all of his old friends again for the first time in so long, to be honest there was one arrival he was counting on more than the rest. When at last Kingsley did arrive, his broad smile said it all. Sure enough in his hand he carried a bundle of rolled up papers. Everything Sirius could possibly need to officially declare both his innocence and freedom.

The two men exchanged a friendly - and appreciative on Sirius' part – hug, and stood in the hallway chatting for quite some time while everyone else got settled and stuck into the wine in the kitchen. When Molly called them for dinner, Kingsley had just finished explaining the way that the demographics of the order had been changing over the last few years. The number of younger members had skyrocketed and he admitted with a grin that they frequently made him feel like an old man in these meetings. It was good though, because their ranks had needed a bit of replenishing after the Battle of Hogwarts, and most of these young ones were the sons and daughters of former members anyway. So it was more of a generation shift than anything else.

When everyone was seated at the table Molly unveiled the edible masterpiece, with a special mention to her helpers, who performed an integral role in the earlier preparation. Remus and Sirius exchanged congratulatory expressions with one another, but Hermione was pretending to be deep in conversation with Harry at the time, in order to avoid eye contact with Sirius and be embarrassed, or seen by Remus and found-out. Sirius was a little disappointed at not being able to shoot her a nice wink, but in hindsight was chastising himself for even giving that action encouragement in his head. Before long the table was thrown into silence anyway, excepting the sounds of very enthusiastic chewing.

Dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all, exceeded only by dessert, which everyone miraculously found room for in their bellies. While people were letting their meals settle Dumbledore seized the opportunity to bring up some official business. Apparently there had been a spate of attempted robberies at Gringotts, although the thieves were never actually able to get away with any substantial amount of cash, and there didn't seem to be any particular method to their madness. Harry suggested with a snigger that it was probably Crabbe and Goyle – it sounded like their kind of handy work. The catch with that was that those two definitely were not in need of any money, thanks to their grotesquely wealthy families.

There were some other similarly low-level matters discussed, with everybody looking interested but very few people actually listening, and then Dumbledore finally got to the juicy part. He did Sirius and Hermione the courtesy of explaining the events surrounding his return – in the interest of clearing up any inaccuracies or leaving room for idle gossip. Both Sirius and Hermione were quietly pleased that this would greatly reduce the number of times they themselves would need to repeat the tale.

As the evening wore on, everyone's spirits remained high. Hermione was quite proud of herself for managing to mingle with more or less everyone in the room, except for Sirius. She spent the bulk of the evening on the couch with Tonks and Luna discussing, among other things, Ginny's upcoming graduation, and speculating as to whether she'd move in at Grimmauld or back at the Burrow. When Neville and Luna went home, Hermione and Tonks migrated to the study with Harry and Ron for chess and chatting.

Once he'd farewelled Dumbledore, who was the last guest to leave, Sirius went back into the kitchen, where he found Remus just getting ready to crack open a bottle of firewhiskey. "That was really great, seeing everybody again. It's uncanny how some of them have really had a busy few years and yet others are exactly the same as I remember them. Like, all of Molly and Arthur's kids are growing up and getting married for Merlin's sake. Bill's got a pregnant Veela wife – I never would have seen that one coming! And Neville's got a fiancé!"

"Yeah it's funny the way things turn out, isn't it?" replied Remus, apparently finding the reflection contagious. "If you'd asked me before you fell into the veil where everyone would be in five years time, I'm not sure I would have got many right at all. Harry and Ginny I think I could see coming, even though they were so young. I'd never have placed Kingsley as the future Minister for Magic – I mean he's always been good, but I didn't think that was his bag, you know. I probably would have predicted that Hermione would get married long before the others. To Ron I guess, although now I see that that probably wouldn't have worked out. I certainly wouldn't have thought that she'd be involved in a long-distance, 'friends with benefits' sort of thing with Viktor Krum."

At this point Sirius swallowed hard. _Viktor Krum hey?_ _Unless there are two of them floating around then that'd be the Bulgarian Quidditch champion she met while she was at school. The one who half the world's women adore and Hermione loves to dance with. Super. That's a real confidence booster that is. _

"Mmmm, you're right," was all he actually replied with – not wanting to outwardly betray any more or less interest in particular details than in others.

Now Remus was wearing a sly smile. "Just so you know Sirius, despite your best façade, I remain uncommonly intuitive, particularly when it comes to those nearest to me. Having said this, I may have become aware throughout the course of this evening that your eyes were in fact following Miss Granger's every movement." Remus gave him a look that said, 'do explain yourself you seedy old bastard', but rather than supply any explanation at all, Sirius responded with, "Haha, well thank you for the observation my good man, next time I'll be keeping a sharp eye on you as well." and then continued with a very innocent expression on his face. "I just wanted to make sure she wasn't being inundated with ridiculous questions about the veil. As it turns out she seemed to escape relatively unscathed, which is good."

"Ooh you are a noble and kind gentleman Sirius Black, however did the women of the world cope without you?" Remus couldn't help but laugh at his friend's blatant fib.

"That's enough hot air and innuendo out of you for one sitting I think Moony, I don't know about you, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed." Sirius put (although it wasn't far from slammed) his glass on the sink, with indignation.

"Alright old friend but we'll mark this one 'to be continued' eh? At some point, I dare say this conversation really will need to be reconvened, whether it's by my hand or yours. Pleasant dreams!"

Sirius started making his way up the stairs with an unintelligible grumble at Remus' final words. Remus smiled at the childish antics of his best friend and made his way to the fireplace.

Sirius lay awake on his big old bed for quite some time that night, running over in his mind what Remus had said. He couldn't deny that the man would make a killing out of an occupation as a psychic psychiatrist. The truth was though that Sirius hadn't even figured out what was going on in his own head, and he certainly didn't want to be sharing his confusion with anybody else yet. Remus would just have to respect his privacy for a while and let him sort it out. Surely he knew him well enough by now to be content in the knowledge that when he's ready to talk, he will. In the meantime he had this new state of utter confusion completely to himself. _Merlin Sirius what are you trying to do to yourself? You've just been given official license to do whatever you want for the first time in 19 years, and the only woman you can think about is your godson's best friend, who I might add, has a penchant for famous international sportsmen!_

Unbeknownst to Mr. Black, down the hallway, the object of his confusion also lay awake, staring forlornly at the ceiling in an attempt to figure out what on earth was going on in her own head. She hadn't touched another drop of wine all evening and still she had found herself drawn to sneaking a look at him at every opportunity. She had gone out of her way to avoid any actual eye contact or communication with Sirius and tried earnestly to involve herself with a plethora of other conversations; but she still found herself searching for him in her peripheral vision. _What on earth's going on? Don't tell me I've got a schoolgirl crush on Harry's godfather about five years late? Bloody brilliant this is!_


	8. Chapter 8

Life Number Three

Chapter Eight

Neither Hermione nor Sirius had slept particularly well that night, but it seemed that Harry had suffered no such affliction. When he entered the kitchen for breakfast he was all bright and cheery with a nice loud, "Good morning you two!" This came in total contrast to the atmosphere of the room, which had until then been as silent as the grave. Apart from very short greetings and then a couple of mumbled 'excuse me's' while they both fished around for their breakfast essentials, the two of them had been sitting in complete silence. They could both feel the air getting heavier by the minute and yet thanks to the reflections and realisations of the previous evening, neither one was confident at all about opening their mouth. Being able to read each other's minds would no doubt have eased the burden, but as that wasn't the case they just sat there, each thinking that they had made the other completely revolted and uncomfortable by their unabashed behaviour.

Harry did notice that they seemed oddly quiet, but he was too busy blabbering about the list of things that Sirius could go out and do today, now that all the official business had been sorted out, that he moved it to the very back of his mind.

"Are you going to come with us?" Harry turned to Hermione for his question, but she had to ask him to repeat it a second time, as she'd been 'lost in her thoughts'.

"Umm, no I have some things here that I want to get done today. But thank you for the offer and I hope you two enjoy yourselves." She smiled at them both kindly and then went straight back to being fixated on her coffee and toast. Sirius' heart sank a little bit. He couldn't deny that he was looking forward to spending the day with her, even if she did quite obviously find him repulsive. He might have had a chance to prove he wasn't so bad after all, but not today it seemed.

Wanting to ease the mounting tension he announced, "we'd better get ourselves cleaned up and looking publicly acceptable so that we can get a nice early start on that list." He gave Harry a wink across the table and the two of them promptly cleaned up their dishes and went upstairs. When they'd left, Hermione inhaled properly for the first time in about twenty minutes. Shaking her head furiously and mumbling a chain of disapproving remarks at herself, she too made light work of her dishes and went to her bedroom to get changed. _Lovely, now I have resorted to behaving like some moody, socially inept, child. Charming! _

Fifteen minutes later, Hermione was curled up on the largest, most comfortable sofa in the study. The door was open, and when Sirius walked passed on his way back downstairs, he couldn't help but peek through it. He really wanted to try and ease the tension between them before the situation became any more awkward, and he was sure that the Hermione he'd come to know over the years would appreciate the relief also, whatever her attitude towards him was. However, when he saw her sitting there, relaxed and looking completely absorbed in her book, he decided the ice-breaking conversation should wait until later. Just as he pulled his head out of the doorway a quiet voice asked, "Are you two off to Diagon Alley then?"

"Ahhhhhhhh, yes in a minute." He reappeared in the doorway, his whole body this time. And after a momentary pause, "It's a shame you aren't joining us. It's sure to be a rather interesting outing, dodging and weaving our way through crowds of crazy onlookers and all that." At this she smiled. "Maybe next time when the crowds have died down a bit. Something tells me that getting around town with The Boy who Lived and his resurrected Godfather could potentially be very draining on my social appetite." She punctuated the comment with a giggle at the end, which he joined in on too.

What Sirius said next took even him by surprise. "Actually, apparently we're going to see the Cannon's play at home next Sunday, you should come along to that with us. Mad Quidditch fans never have concentration for anything else at a live game. We'll go completely unnoticed for sure." Hermione's face fell at this suggestion, and Sirius immediately regretted pushing the boundaries too far. Her reply wasn't as bad as he'd feared though, and it did give him some hope to hang on to, although he couldn't hide his obvious disappointment. "I'd really love to go to the game, but I'm actually leaving on holidays on Monday, and I won't be back for a couple of weeks." She could tell he'd become disheartened and so she added, "but if the offer's still good for the next game, I'd love to come to that."

"Right, I'm sure we can arrange something satisfactory to that request." And he smiled warmly at her, and turned to head downstairs. "Good luck with the crazy people today!" Hermione called out after him. "Thanks!" he replied as he descended the stairs.

Once Harry and Sirius had left, Hermione finished her chapter and got stuck into some cleaning in the kitchen and bathrooms. After all those guests last night the place was in need of a bit of a touch up. This was one of the times in her life when she most enjoyed being a witch. She had fond memories of doing housework the muggle way with her mother when she was little. Of course back then her mother was more or less doing all the work and Hermione was just following her around with the duster, poking things - and occasionally people – with it, and getting the giggles. Now that she had to look after this house (with token help from Harry) she was very glad to have the luxury of a few handy cleaning spells and charms.

Her earlier conversation with Sirius had done wonders for her mood, and as she moved from one room to another she found herself thinking of him, and Harry too of course, and what they might be doing at that moment. Perhaps they were running out the back door of some obscure little store trying to avoid a herd of boisterous housewives or snooping reporters. She laughed at the thought of them conspiring about the fastest escape route and then laughing raucously once they had arrived in a safer destination. Sirius always looked his happiest when he was being mischievous, and even more so when Harry was in toe.

She hadn't enjoyed being so awkward around him this morning. She was never like that with anyone. Usually she was the epitome of confidence and dignity. He'd done the adult thing and initiated the conversation that brought relief to the both of them, and for that she was very grateful. It had occurred to her that something would eventually need to be said so that they didn't end up tiptoeing around their own home, but she hadn't the foggiest idea of exactly how to initiate that conversation, and so she hadn't. Again it dawned on her that post-veil Sirius seemed much more grown up than he ever had been before. The icebreaker had not however, made her any clearer about her quite unprecedented feelings towards him, whatever they were.

Once the cleaning was done, she headed up to her room where her next task was to begin packing for her holiday. She was going to spend a week with Viktor in Romania and then she was travelling to her parent's house to spend the next week with them. She'd be back just in time for Ginny's graduation, which she was very much looking forward to. When she opened up her suitcase she saw a picture of herself and Viktor that they'd taken on her last trip in March. She immediately felt guilty about all of this thinking she seemed to be doing about Sirius, when Viktor should have been the one on her mind. And usually he was. There'd never been any other competition for her heart before. She and Ron had almost dated one another but she loved him like a brother, not like a boyfriend, not like Viktor.

Having said all this, their relationship was anything but perfect. Regardless of how much they really did care for one another, and how much they truly enjoyed each other's company, neither one of them was prepared to make the sacrifice and relocate for the sake of a proper relationship. So, they stuck to their quarterly interludes and that was that. At some point Hermione knew something would have to give, and it was unlikely that she and Viktor Krum would live happily ever after, but she was resolved to wait until she had a good reason to end it. After all, she did quite like having passionate, lustful weeks away in the romantic Romanian mountains with the world's most famous Quidditch player. She'd be a very silly woman to end it for anything less than true love.

-------

By the time Harry and Sirius arrived home, they were exhausted. Hermione put on a cup of tea and once they had taken their good and chattels upstairs, the two men joined her in the kitchen. They sat there for about an hour, filling her in on the contents of their day. They told her about their trip to Gringotts and how it was lucky for the goblin who'd served them that they were in a good mood, otherwise who knows what kind of hexes the unpleasant little fellow would have been on the receiving end of. Then they'd been to Quality Quidditch Supplies so that Sirius could purchase a new broom. He hadn't been able to fly around since before Azkaban, so he had no idea where his old one was, if it still even existed. They'd also been into Madam Malkin's for some new robes. Harry had brought a few new pairs seen as it was now summer and some of his cooler robes from last year didn't fit quite as well this year – he was still growing it seemed. Sirius had bought only a couple though, as he wasn't planning on staying quite this slim and gaunt for any extended period. He'd wait until he was happy again with his figure before he went splurging on a new wardrobe. The conversation continued on like this for a while. Long enough for a second cup of tea for each of them, and for the sun to start, and finish setting outside.

Harry inquired as to whether Hermione had gotten all of her jobs done, and she told him to open his eyes next time he went into the bathroom, with a playful nudge in his ribs. She told them that she'd also made some progress with her packing but then mused out aloud about the fact that she always ended up buying a whole stack of clothes whenever she went away anyhow, due to her never managing to pack the appropriate items for the season. Harry started to glaze over just a little when she began running through the various items that she'd decided to include and the justification behind her decisions, but Sirius could sit and watch her and listen to her talk for hours. The hard part was trying to disguise this as innocent respect and attention.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi all  My apologies for taking so long on this Chapter. I've got a bit more spare time at the moment though so hopefully the next one isn't quite so far off. Enjoy!

Life Number Three

Chapter 9

After dinner, Hermione went back up to her room to continue packing, and presumably fell asleep not long after, because the boys didn't see her again all evening. Once Harry and Sirius had cleaned up the dishes, which they considered only fair given how Hermione had spent her morning, they headed up to the study for a couple of quiet drinks and a game of chess. Harry had received an owl from Ginny that afternoon and so he was filling his godfather in on the contents – summarising that is.

Ginny was officially counting down the days to her graduation. This year had felt particularly drawn out due to the fact that all of the people she most enjoyed spending time with were not at Hogwarts anymore, and seemed a long way away out in the real world. She was in regular communication with them all of course; never a day went by when she didn't receive an owl from Harry, Hermione or Molly. Still, now that the end was nigh, she was more than a little excited about getting out, and so was Harry. Sirius could tell just from the way Harry became so animated when he talked about her that this girl had well and truly stolen his godson's heart. And good on her, she sounded like she'd grown into a wonderful young woman.

"Only about two and a half weeks now. I can't wait. Apparently all the senior girls have gone into a frenzy about the ball already, and they haven't even finished their exams yet!" Harry was saying with a smile. "I remember this time last year. We were all chomping at the bit just to get out. Even Hermione….and that's saying something." They both chuckled.

Sirius was sorry he'd missed Harry's graduation, just like everything else, but he was starting to punish himself less for these things now, realising that if he felt awful every time he heard about something he'd missed, he'd be feeling awful all the time. Something else had been playing on his mind recently anyway, a distraction of sorts. As Harry continued, Sirius' mind wandered in this familiar direction. He was very curious about this trip Hermione was taking, in particular, whom she was taking it with. He was well aware of the fact that it was none of his business, and he tried to convince himself that he was simply feeling protective of her, but he wasn't completely oblivious to his growing attachment. However, there was no way he wanted to give Harry the impression that he was perving on his best friend, so until such a time as he could conjure up some platonic conversation to fit it into, he'd just have to live in fear that she was running off to elope with someone vastly superior to himself.

When Sirius' mind landed back in the room, he was glad to find Harry still happily chatting away about Ginny, while contemplating his next move. "I'm really happy for you mate. You've found a really nice girl there and you're clearly very keen on each other."

"Thanks, yeah we are," Harry replied pausing thoughtfully. "It's nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff now. It always seemed a bit weird talking to Remus about it, and of course Ron was out of the question."

"Well, I'm happy to help," Sirius said holding his arms out in a 'least I could do' kind of motion, and continued with a smile, "although you should know Harry that judging by your current situation, I should be the one getting advice from you, not the other way 'round. I think my most committed relationship lasted about four weeks, if I remember correctly. I'm not proud of it, but if I'm being honest, I'm really not all that good at the relationship thing. I mean I'd like to be, but back in the day I was just having fun you know, I wasn't looking to find anyone special to settle down with. So I never really got the hang of dating or being anyone's boyfriend. Of course now I think of it, some better practice could have come in handy, but what can you do eh?"

"Oh go on, you're Sirius Black, don't get all defeatist on me. You'll be alright. If you can't find someone who'll marry you for love, you'll definitely find someone who'll marry you for your money." Harry's lip curled up and he burst out laughing. Once Sirius had finished looking hurt he swatted Harry with one of the couch cushions. "Thanks very much for the vote of confidence!"

"No seriously, you'll be fine. I have no doubt that you'll find your woman. I know in your mind she's on some far away planet, but she'll probably turn out to be a lot nearer than you think." He smiled encouragingly and winked. Sirius would have loved to just throw it out there that he was kind of, sort of, a little bit keen, he thought, on Hermione. But obviously there was no way in Merlin's beard that that was going to happen, so instead he yawned and smiled and put on his most sarcastic voice. "Right, well thank you for that Dr Love. I'm exhausted and I'm heading off to bed now."

"Alright," replied Harry yawning, "Seeya in the morning."

"Night"

-------

As Sirius made his way to his bedroom, the same one, the only one that he'd ever occupied at this house, he slowed down at Hermione's door. He couldn't see her, but he imagined that she looked peaceful. She was probably having some very satisfying dream about a dashing young lad whisking her off her feet and carrying her to his castle in the mountains. Sirius sighed inwardly as he wandered along the hall and disappeared into his bedroom.

If Hermione had known what Sirius was thinking she would have laughed out loud. She was definitely not having any sort of pleasant dream. In fact at this point in time she'd settle for a nightmare if she could just get some bloody sleep. She'd been lying there for a good two hours tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable: blankets on, blankets off, window open, window closed. She knew why she couldn't sleep, but it frustrated her in the extreme. _Why shouldn't I be going on holidays? I've had a pretty stressful couple of weeks. _She definitely needed a rest, and yet she didn't want to go. She was actually dreading leaving.

She was about to go off on one of these holidays that most young women can only dream of, and all she could think about was the scruffy, roughed-up old guy in the room down the hall, and how he'd actually seemed disappointed that she couldn't go to the Quidditch with him. _What the?_ There wasn't much she could do about it though. She was going on this holiday, and she needed to just clear her mind of all these bizarre thoughts. Distance from the situation would do her the world of good, she hoped, and when she came back things could get back to normal, he might even have a girlfriend……………….. On second thoughts, it is definitely much too soon for that, he shouldn't go rushing into anything; a relationship for him right now would be a bad idea. Hermione felt much better once she'd applied her own twisted reasoning to conceal her inwardly obvious jealousy of any prospective girlfriend for Sirius. She had resigned to the fact that she clearly wasn't going to be getting any sleep this evening, and so the mind games continued into the night.

And she lived up to all of her expectations. It wasn't until the sun came up that she drifted off, and before long there was clinking and clattering in the kitchen where the boys were making themselves a very noisy breakfast. When she entered the kitchen Harry took one look at her and blurted out, 'wow you look like death…are you feeling ok?" Immediately Sirius whipped round to see what on earth had happened to her. The look of concern on his face took her a little by surprise and when her mind cleared she filled the awkward silence with, "oh I just couldn't get comfy all night. I think I'll change the sheets today, fluff up the pillows, maybe that'll help. Now where's some coffee so I can make it through the morning?" Sirius smiled at her wit in what was obviously not her finest hour, and he obliged her with a steaming hot cup of freshly made coffee. It tasted fantastic and she thanked him very gratefully.

"You needn't worry too much. No doubt that five-star hotel in Romania will once again have a huge selection of the comfiest pillows to go on the comfiest bed." Harry said innocently. Of course he had no reason to suspect that saying it would make Sirius nearly choke on his bacon and eggs. To divert the attention from his own foolishness Sirius chimed in with, "Well that certainly sounds very nice. A bit of pampering and relaxation never went astray."

He was the last person that Hermione wanted to be discussing her holiday with, but she couldn't exactly just not respond. "The last couple of times it's been lovely. It's a beautiful place really, as long as you don't focus on all the dragons." She immediately regretted the allusion she'd made to flitting off all the time for rendezvous in Romania. But it was already said now.

"You're still going there first and then to your parents for the second week are you?" Harry was just checking that Hermione's plans hadn't changed. He was almost as protective of her as he was Ginny. Ginny however was much easier to keep tabs on given that her movements did not extend beyond the walls of Hogwarts and every so often the village of Hogsmeade. Harry was always a little tense when Hermione went to see Viktor. He knew that Krum would never let anything happen to her, but there were others over there that he simply didn't trust. As much as he liked Viktor, Harry hoped with all his heart that he and Hermione would eventually grow apart. He couldn't stand it if she moved away.

-------

Sirius had already decided that he wanted to spend the day clearing some of the rooms on the upper level of the house. Harry and Hermione had put plenty of work into the bottom two levels, but they'd never wanted to move anything above that. It wasn't theirs after all and they didn't like the idea of moving into someone else's house and getting rid of all their prized possessions. Sirius however had a feeling that the whole process was going to be very therapeutic indeed.

After breakfast Harry headed over to the Burrow. Apparently Fred and George had got some new stock in for the store and were doing a bit of product testing at home before they put them on the shelves. Hermione had some washing to do before she could finish her packing so she headed to the laundry more or less straight away.

Mid-morning saw Sirius sitting on the floor in what used to be an old drawing room, now full of boxes of old things that he'd moved in here when it'd become his all those years ago. So far he'd condensed about ten boxes into three without even having to use magic to shrink anything – that would come later when the boxes needed to fit in the cupboard. When Hermione walked in quietly to see how things were going he was slowly looking through the pages of a dusty old book. When he looked up and saw her there he gestured to the book and said, "from my second year at Hogwarts. Potions in the front half and Charms in the back." Hermione smiled and sat down beside him, looking over his shoulder at his fairly messy handwriting and copious numbers of scribbles and sketches along the margin of the pages. "I'd never have taken you for a hoarder of school-books Sirius, this is a very surprising collection indeed. Embarrassingly enough for you, I have a very similar one myself at my parents house."

"Well you'll have to bring it over some time and we'll compare notes. And when I say compare I mean that we'll see how much I got wrong by looking at what you've written." He raised his eyebrows and smiled warmly at her and she gave him a nudge with her elbow as if to say, 'I know you're kind of teasing me, but thank you for the compliment all the same'.

"Truth is, this is the first I even knew all these were up here. I guess I'd put them all in a box when I graduated and then when I got sent to Azkaban," Hermione's brow furrowed at the thought, "and all my things were sent here, they must have just been in the pile." He looked pleasantly surprised as he delved deeper into the reaches of the box to find nearly all of the books he'd used across the whole seven years. "This must be pretty much every book you ever had at school." Hermione was marvelling at the pile that was mounting up before her.

"Well nearly all of them, there were a few casualties along the way you know," Sirius' grin let Hermione know that she was about to hear a few Marauder's tales. "If I recall correctly at least two fell into the path of the whomping willow," he made a grim face, "care of a Prongs special, post-exams celebration. Funnily enough he never threw his own books at the bloody tree." He wasn't really mad about it, although the tone in his voice was almost convincing. Hermione was onto him though and she laughed heartily knowing that despite his protestations he probably enjoyed the whole experience more than anyone else. "And poor old Myrtle copped one I believe in my fifth year, courtesy of a girl by the name of Genevieve Ismail. Apparently she and I were dating although I swear she never told me about it, and she found a note in my book from Gretel Malvern and of course that was curtains for the poor old book." Hermione was giggling at his stories, very much enjoying that the two of them were in such comfortable company with one another. It was nice to hear him reminiscing about happy times and seeing such a big smile on his face.

Hermione had plenty more she needed to do in preparation for her trip, but suddenly none of it seemed very urgent at all. She opened the next box while Sirius packed the books into another and found an enormous fluffy dragon. On the underbelly of the dragon there was a note written in green ink – _'Dear Sirius, thanks for last night, love Professor M_.' "Professor M hey? I hope it's not the professor M I'm thinking of. I'm definitely wanting to hear this story!" He put on his most innocent looking face and returned, "Oh that old thing, it's not half and exciting as you'd think, I assure you," but the way his lips were starting to curl at the sides hinted otherwise, and immediately he had her undivided attention.

Mid afternoon Harry flooed back in from the Burrow, and after calling out to both Sirius and Hermione from the ground level, he realised that they must've been out of earshot because they were upstairs. He went quietly, not wanting to startle them and cause the breakage of some precious heirloom. When he got to the door the two of them were too deep in conversation to notice his arrival and he stood there for a minute appreciating the sight of his best friend and his godfather obviously enthralled in each other's company. He'd thought he'd noticed a couple of awkward moments between them and he was worried that Sirius was feeling unnecessarily indebted to Hermione, and that Hermione was feeling overly sympathetic towards Sirius, therefore making normal, casual conversation difficult. But the picture before him cleared all that up in an instant. "Having fun you two?" and he wandered over to where they were, crouched over another old book.

"Oh Harry, Sirius was just showing me his Uncle Alphard's Diary, it's incredible how long ago it was written and yet how much is completely recognisable, as if the world hasn't changed a bit." Hermione was looking at Harry as she spoke, but Sirius wasn't. He was looking straight at her, absolutely besotted with how thoughtful she was and how much she seemed to value all of these previously unnoticed items from his past. He looked away before Harry could catch him staring, but over the next few moments Harry got the distinct impression that as much as Sirius liked his company, he'd really rather he hadn't come back.


	10. Chapter 10

Life Number Three

Chapter 10

When the three of them were all exhausted and covered in dust, they decided to pack it in for the day. So they shut the old drawing room door behind them and headed downstairs to make dinner. Harry volunteered to cook steak because it was nice and easy, and Hermione suggested that they invite Remus and Tonks 'round for tea, since she wouldn't see them again for a couple of weeks. Sirius of course said that he thought that was a great idea, even though on the inside he was dreading an evening of Remus watching over him like a hawk. He'd much prefer to have had a quiet night in with Harry and Hermione, since it was the last time they'd see her too for a little while.

About half an hour later Remus and Tonks appeared in the fireplace, just as Sirius and Hermione were taking a seat in the living room. At the sight before him Remus raised his eyebrows, and his, "Good evening you two," was just a bit too intonated at the end for Sirius' liking. But to Sirius' surprise, the werewolf said nothing more, instead the woman beside him commented on the smell of dust in the air, and from there the conversation flowed quite steadily through the events of the day, and the discoveries in the drawing room.

Over dinner this made way for innumerable other tales abut the Marauders at Hogwarts, which Remus and Sirius were all too happy to share, and the others were very interested to hear. Harry always loved to hear stories about his father; Tonks loved to see Remus so animated; and Hermione was relishing this opportunity to find out a little more about the adventures of these two friends of hers. She was paying no particular attention of course to the way Sirius spoke, or the way his grey eyes turned silver from his laughing so much, or the way he would casually glance in her direction as he surveyed his audience.

At one point, in her delusion, she was staring at him while he was looking in the other direction and when he turned suddenly, to her embarrassment, she had to look away and immediately find Tonk's hair quite fascinating. Sirius was obviously so horrified by her inappropriate attention that he lost his place in his story. _Oh Merlin, _thought Hermione,_ please let it be time to go to a far away place now._

-------

"Remus, I can tell exactly what's going to come out of your mouth and I don't want to hear it. Whatever you think is going on is not, and the whole situation would be much more comfortable without your prying." Harry, Hermione and Tonks had moved into the living room after dinner, which left Remus, and regrettably Sirius, in the kitchen cleaning up. Remus hadn't even opened his mouth yet, but as soon as the others were out of earshot Sirius started ranting, wanting to cut any ridiculous Hermione related conversation off at the chase. When he'd been telling the story of the Marauders' first mischief- riddled trip to Hogsmeade at dinner and he'd seen Hermione looking at him, he'd completely lost his place, and although he recovered quite well, he'd mucked up a few details and Remus of course, noticed.

"Hey, I hadn't said anything yet? I wasn't even going to bring it up. I figured you'd feel silly enough about it without my interference." He was smirking at his old friend while he cleared the dinner table. "But honestly Padfoot, a word to the wise: the only reason they didn't notice was because they didn't know the story. Sooner or later you're going to get caught out my friend. It's lucky indeed for you that she's going away for a few weeks. It'll give you time to cool off, before you embarrass yourself."

"She's far from an idiot Remus, I bet she noticed too. I can't imagine what kind of stuttering old pervert she thinks I am. And what if Harry gets wind of it? That'll be a fun conversation that one. Getting a lecture from my twenty-year old godson about the inappropriateness of lusting after his best friend."

"Well at any rate mate, she'd never be one to make a big scene about it, so your dignity is safe with her. But still, in the interest of nobody needing to move out, you really need to try and transform these feelings into something more platonic for when she gets back."

"At the risk of sounding terribly clichéd, what if I can't do that?"

Remus paused thoughtfully before he replied to this one. He hadn't initially been sure whether encouraging Sirius down this path was a good idea or not, but after contemplating the situation further, he decided his two friends could be far worse off than with each was he to alter the possible course of true love? "Well then you'd better pull your socks up Black, because your competition is the world's greatest Quidditch player, and half the boys in Wizarding London would give a limb to date her as well."

"Right." Sirius smiled at his friend's encouraging words, even if they did highlight the enormity of the challenge that lay before him. Just as Remus was putting the last of the now clean and dry dishes in the cupboard, Tonks wandered in with a request for tea and coffee.

"So what've you two been chatting about in here then? All those Marauder memories that are too sordid for our ears?" She grinned at them both and put her arm around Remus.

"Yes of course. I wouldn't want you getting the right impression of me when I've done so well to disguise it all this time." Remus returned the grin and playfully kissed her on the forehead.

"While Hermione's away, you and Harry'll have to come for dinner a couple of times. Just so I can make sure you're not getting jaundice from your own nutritional selection." She smiled at Sirius as she extended the invitation.

"Sounds great. We'll take you up on that offer I think. I certainly won't feel like cooking every night, and unless Harry's turned into a master chef while nobody's been looking, neither will he."

Once Sirius had charmed the kettle into boiling at the speed of light, the three of them carried the tea and coffee stuff into the living room, where Harry and Hermione were sitting on the couch. Sirius purposely waited until Hermione had made her tea and sat back down before he went anywhere near the coffee table. He didn't want to weird her out any more this evening.

She, meanwhile was convinced in her own head that when she got back from her holiday he was going to very politely ask her to leave the house, because she had obviously developed some sort of crush on him and he just couldn't have that while he was trying to get back onto the dating scene. Perhaps that would be a blessing in disguise. If she kept going the way she was she'd just end up making a fool of herself, and she was not one to endure that lightly. No man had ever made Hermione lose her head before, not even Viktor, and she didn't appreciate that Sirius seemed to have this sort of power over her.

As they nestled into the comfortable lounge chairs, the conversation turned to what Hermione was planning on doing with her herself while she was away. She explained that she usually had a full itinerary drawn up before she left, but she'd got caught up with 'other things' this time and hadn't managed it. The one thing that she was sure of though was that Viktor was taking her to visit the new dragon research centre. She'd known it was in development for a while, courtesy of Charlie, but now it was open to the public and she was quite excited about seeing it. At the thought of Viktor squiring Hermione about the Romanian countryside, Sirius felt insanely jealous. _Why did he have to be a nice guy who treats her well?_ It would have made his life much easier if Viktor was frankly a nasty bastard. Hermione did glance in his direction a couple of times while sipping on her tea, and he smiled ever so slightly, in an effort to regain some comfort between them. Of course she smiled back.

Hermione also detailed all of the family do's her mother had planned for her to attend in their week together after Romania. She had no doubt that by the time she got back she'd need a holiday from her holiday. Sirius did get up the gumption to ask her at one point whether she'd be back for Ginny's graduation. Harry was impressed that he'd remembered it. Little did he know it was only out of concern for Hermione's not being there that he had. It relieved Sirius greatly to find out that indeed she would be back, she wouldn't miss it for the world in fact. She was arriving home on the Thursday and the ball was on the Saturday evening. So she'd be tired but she'd definitely be there.

The broader than usual smiles on both of their faces upon realising that each was as enthusiastic about the ball as the other, did not go unnoticed by Remus, who'd already decided that as soon as Hermione left in the morning he was coming straight over to hear Sirius' plan of attack. There was no doubt in the werewolf's mind at this point that his friend had no intention of spending the next two weeks working this young witch out of his mind. No, he was going to spend his time figuring out how to work himself into hers instead. And Remus, sensing the potential for lots and lots of jibing and stupidity, wouldn't miss it for quids.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for the encouragement and sound advice, those of you who've reviewed. It is much appreciated. Please, faithful audience let me know what you're liking, and what you're not. It helps, honestly. Enjoy! **

Life Number Three

Chapter 11

Monday morning had arrived. Hermione intended to leave for Romania at 10am sharp. Having successfully finished all of her packing by now, she had a nice little sleep in and made her way down to the kitchen at 8:30. She walked through the door to find Sirius standing at the stove, supervising three different pans, each one with an omelette in it. _No Harry eh? This ought to be interesting._ "Good morning Sirius," she said quietly, not wanting to startle him.

He turned around with a warm smile on his face. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Yes actually, much better than the previous night."

"That's good." He nodded his head, "Mmm." _Now what?_

By the way I think I might be in love with you and in light of this I was wondering if you might not go gallivanting around the European countryside with your Bulgarian lover?

No? Awkward silence it is then.

"Those omelettes smell lovely," said Hermione after a little while gazing at nothing in particular. "As long as they taste better than the ones that Harry makes I'll be happy."

Sirius grinned cheekily before replying with, "Oh dear, if he can't even cook omelettes then I can see us eating very regularly over at Remus and Tonks' in the next few weeks. Harry did his steak last night, so once we've exhausted my dinner repertoire of sausages, soup and spaghetti, we're gonna be in trouble." The tension was gone and she was smiling at the thought of the two of them fumbling around in the kitchen trying to piece together some grand feast, and then eventually giving up or starting a fire or something.

"Well obviously I'll have to bring back a few cookbooks with me and we can get you two in training." He smiled at her encouraging response. She could have been put off by his implied lack of cooking prowess, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"Harry's in the shower. I was hoping that these'd be ready by the time the two of you came down, but the eggs apparently have other ideas." He looked a little disappointed that what he had obviously planned as a treat had not quite worked out. She didn't like seeing that look on his face.

"In that case I should warn you that by the time Harry is done shampooing, conditioning, cleansing, toning, moisturising, putting hair gel in, putting hair wax in and applying ridiculous amounts of cologne, I probably will have chewed the leg off the table."

This made Sirius laugh out loud. "Is he really that bad?"

"Oh yes, haven't you had to wait for him yet? Lucky man. It's certainly an experience I wish I was less familiar with." The tone in her voice was very amusing. "He never used to be like that at school, but ever since he discovered the wonderful world of men's toiletries he's been unstoppable. If it wasn't for the fact that I know twenty other guys our age who are exactly as pedantic, I'd swear he was gay. Honestly I don't know who they think they're impressing? Certainly not those of us with a sense of smell. There's nothing like walking up behind someone and having your nostrils fill with ten different pungent odours all at once." She screwed up her nose at the thought.

"Right well I'll keep that in mind. One scent only if I want a self-respecting female to come within ten feet of me." Sirius responded very matter-of-factly.

His taking her advice so personally made Hermione blush. "Well that's just me getting on my soapbox, honestly I'm sure there's plenty of women out there who aren't nearly as fussy as I am." She said, shaking her head slightly at her over-enthusiasm for expressing her own opinions.

If Sirius had gotten the chance, the next thing he was going to say was that he has no interest in women who don't know what they want, and therefore fussy was fine by him, but he didn't get the opportunity. Harry walked in immediately commenting on the wonderful aroma that met him on the stairs. Upon catching a whiff of him, Hermione and Sirius wondered in tandem how on earth he even smelled the omelettes over the aforementioned ten aromas. When Harry wasn't watching, Sirius caught Hermione's attention and made a funny expression with his nose, causing her to giggle.

Sirius transferred the omelettes onto three breakfast plates and set them down on the table. "One for you Harry, and for Madame." He then took a seat himself. _Madame hey? _Thought Harry to himself, but he wasn't going to say a word.

"Wow Sirius this is fantastic!" Hermione congratulated him immediately after swallowing her first delicious mouthful. "You're a gourmet, you should be having Remus and Tonks around here for dinner!"

Sirius felt like shouting hooray and dancing on the table, but of course he just smiled and replied with, "Well I'm glad it's to your liking. Can't have you heading off on your holiday with a grumbling stomach can we?"

"Mmm, I'm already rethinking my initial gift idea. Harry can still have a cookbook," she looked toward her friend with a curled lip and then back to a smiling Sirius, "but I'll have to get you something else now I think."

"When are you planning on leaving Mione?" Harry inquired when he stopped for a drink. For the best actually since Sirius had suffered some kind of inward aneurysm after Hermione's earlier comment.

Hermione looked at her watch before replying, "Umm at ten, so in about 45 minutes I guess." She wasn't even excited about leaving anymore. She couldn't help but glance at Sirius to see any kind of reaction to this news, but he was staring down at his plate. If he had've looked up she would've seen his face looking like a sad puppy, and that wasn't the mark he wanted to leave in her mind at all. He'd been up half the night thinking up things he could do in the next two weeks so that when she came back he'd be ready to impress. Appearing desperate and forlorn was definitely not on the list.

"Are you using the ring as a portkey again?" Harry continued, gesturing towards a beautiful gold ring on her index finger, housing a big ruby inside a border of tiny diamonds. She nodded, not wanting to draw too much attention to the lavish and romantic gift from Viktor.

Harry seemed well satisfied with her transport arrangements and about 15 minutes later, as Sirius collected the dishes, he followed Hermione upstairs to help her bring down her things. While in her room he couldn't help but subject her to a few pieces of travel advice that of course she would already have known inside out, but that he felt he needed to say none the less. After warning her about strange Romanian men, dragons, foreign muggles, and Viktor himself, he was satisfied that she was ready to go, and she was keen to get it over with. She gave him a cuddle and said, "You two need to look after each other while I'm gone. Owl me if you need any first aid tips or domestic advice."

"Mione if we can't take care of ourselves in our own home for two weeks, what on earth are we going to do if we ever move out? We will absolutely not be owling you other than to remind you not to worry about us and to keep having fun. You're supposed to be chilling out on this holiday remember. It's been a pretty big couple of weeks up to now, so just relax and let Viktor spoil you a bit alright?"

"Yes Dad." And she poked Harry fair in the ribs. "Now you listen here young lady…." And they both fell on the bed laughing.

About ten minutes later, Sirius was sitting by the fireplace in the living room when they came out through Hermione's door. He was holding a necklace in his hand that immediately caught the attention of the other two. "It's a protective pendant. It works, or at least I assume it does. I don't think anyone's ever worn it. I've kept it in the box all these years." He was rubbing his beard and looking unsure of himself. Hermione looked perplexed and he assumed that was because she felt he was insulting her independence. So he quickly followed up with, "Although I'm sure Harry's given you the third degree already and I don't want to be pushy………………. but it may as well be put to good use, and if you want you can wear it."

When he finished speaking he cast his eyes down to the floor, a little embarrassed by his foolish gesture, and preparing himself for one or both of them to chastise him for being so unpleasantly old-fashioned and fatherly. He looked up when he felt someone take the box out of his hand, and Hermione was standing there looking at the beautiful piece of jewellery in awe.

"Oh Sirius it's beautiful. I couldn't take it with me; it must be worth a fortune. What if I lost it?" Sirius' face had cracked into a smile and he was shaking his head playfully at her. "Well the purpose of it is to take care of a person, so keeping it in its box forever isn't really the idea. You won't lose it, you're the least likely of all of us to lose anything." His voice was full of sincere encouragement. She smiled appreciatively at him and obliged, undoing the clasp and putting it around her neck. It looked stunning on her and it took Sirius' breath away to think that a little piece of him was going to Romania with her to keep her safe, if the need arose.

Harry meanwhile was standing on the other side of Hermione, cogs churning furiously in his head. _Am I imagining this? Is he? Is she? Oh my. I've got to owl Remus…and Ginny……hang on that might be taking things a bit too far. She is in exams after all. But Remus for sure!_

Hermione gave Harry a big hug and a reciprocated kiss on the cheek. Sirius got a hug too, no kiss thank God or Harry's head might have exploded. The hug however was almost as warm and cuddly as the one Harry had received, which made Sirius delirious and Harry even more perplexed. And as Hermione activated the portkey and waved them goodbye the two men stood there both with smiles on their faces masking so many things swimming around in their individual heads that they just couldn't be counted.

-------

So, to confront one's godfather about possible flirtation with best friend, or not? That was Harry's question. He was definitely going to need to figure out if anyone else had noticed it, or if he was just going bonkers. First things first though; a shower: cold water; alone time for thinking, perfect. Without saying a word to one another where they stood on the rug in the middle of the lounge room, the two of them headed off in different directions; Harry upstairs to his bathroom and Sirius back into the kitchen, for a stronger than usual beverage.

When Remus flooed in Harry was still in the shower and he found Sirius, as predicted, sitting at the kitchen table with a very small glass and a bottle of firewhiskey. It was of course approximately ten minutes past ten in the morning. If Remus didn't know Hermione had just left he would have been concerned his friend was slipping into some very unhealthy drinking habits. As it was he simply seemed to be slipping into a very unhealthy romantic fixation - nothing to worry about really?

"Well aren't you a sorry sight. I had all my money on finding you setting up your own home gym or something like that." Remus chuckled as he took a seat across the table from Sirius.

"You think that's where I should start?" Sirius asked, not offended but rather seeming very keen for suggestion.

"I think you should start by getting your hair cut," said Harry, as he nonchalantly strolled into the kitchen.

Sirius actually looked as though he was about to pass out. The colour visibly drained from his face and it was only the fact that Harry was smiling cheekily at him as he spoke that kept him conscious – out of confusion more than anything else. "Pardon?" was all he could manage as a reply. Remus by this time was shaking in a silent fit of laughter. This was going to be so very entertaining, regardless of the outcome.


	12. Chapter 12

Life Number Three

Chapter 12

"Oh go on old man, I didn't come down in the last shower. I saw you in the drawing room yesterday, I saw you at breakfast this morning, and I was standing right beside Hermione when you were giving her that pendant." Harry was grinning and shaking his head at Sirius' misconceived ignorance.

"I didn't want to mention it earlier, certainly not in front of her, and in case you'd simply contracted some kind of extreme nervous disorder and I'd read the signs wrong. But when I heard you and Remus discussing it when I came down the stairs, my suspicions were confirmed." Harry looked very pleased with his investigative efforts, and continued, "You've got a crush on Hermione; and I do use the word 'crush' because it has connotations of schoolboy and that's exactly what you looked like this morning. Anyone would think you were going on 14 not 40." Harry quite enjoyed having something to tease his godfather about.

"Oh ease up." Sirius was defending himself. "Did I not tell you just the other night that I'm not very good with this stuff?"

At this point Remus had stopped convulsing and joined in the discussion. "Well you've got two weeks to get good at it, before she comes back. And you'd better hope that Viktor isn't on his game this week, or you'll be swimming up stream all the way."

"Yep, and I do think you should start with the hair. She doesn't like it being all long and messy. She prefers a neat looking gentleman. Not someone who looks like they just got back from a 1980's rock concert." The two older men looked at Harry, with raised eyebrows, surprised that he had this kind of insight into Hermione's personal taste. "Hello, she is best friends with my girlfriend you know. I can only shut my ears and 'lalala' through so many conversations." The two older men considered this logic and agreed, nodding their heads.

Sirius was quick to pick up on the potential for inside info here, and added, "True, and on that note, perhaps the next time you owl Ginny you might be able to discreetly drop in a few questions about what else Hermione specifically doesn't like, without giving anything away of course."

"Yeah no worries, our personal correspondence with one another always relates back to Hermione's taste in men somehow, so it'll fit right in." The sarcasm in Harry's voice was duly noted, but when he saw Sirius looking despairing he did add, with a cautionary smirk, "I'll see what I can do."

Harry was beginning to worry that his godfather was unduly underrating his chances and so he put another thought out on the table for the other two to contemplate. "Just as an aside here, I'm not sure if either of you have considered it yet, but it's not like she finds you repulsive anyway Sirius. You don't have to turn yourself into a different guy to impress her. She'd be satisfied I think if you showed a little more attention to detail. Your details and hers that is." And he grinned suggestively to punctuate his point.

Remus had been sitting quietly musing about the bizarre nature of this conversation between the two in front of him, and thought at this point that he should get one thing sorted, lest it bother Sirius for evermore. "So Harry, can I just ask a question then, because I know Sirius will lie awake at night worrying about this. Are we to believe that you don't mind the idea of your godfather romantically pursuing your closest female friend?"

After a moment's pause Harry responded with, "Well I'll admit that the first time I catch you two snogging I'll probably want to vomit," Sirius smirked at the thought of it, as Harry went on, "assuming you get that far of course, because I imagine she's no easy target. But no, I don't object. I'd never want to stand in the way of two people's happiness if that's what it comes to. And I've certainly no right to stop you from trying Sirius. Besides, she deserves someone who's prepared to go the hard yards for her, and it sounds to me like you are."

"Right, well thanks mate, it means a lot to have your blessing Harry." The relief in Sirius' voice was unmistakable. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. There's a very good chance that she won't even go for me anyway, so we'll just have to wait and see."

"Nonsense Pads, you'll just have to crack open a dusty jar of that old Black charm of yours and you'll be back in business in no time." Remus was excited by the prospect of this little challenge they were about to embark upon.

So, after a little further conversation about possible improvements, none of which did anything positive for Sirius' self-esteem, they collectively decided that the first thing that needed attention was in fact the fitness thing. Sirius wasn't quite a weed, but compared to Viktor he certainly was not a rippling pillar of masculinity, particularly since he'd come back from the veil. Two weeks was a pretty narrow time frame and the plan was certainly not to gain bodybuilder status, that wouldn't suit him at all, but he wanted her to see that he was fit and looking after himself.

None of them could think off the top of their head, of anywhere in Wizarding London where they could actually get gym equipment, however Harry suggested that someone down at Quality Quidditch Supplies might know, and so off they went. Initially Harry thought that they might take Ron with them as well, although after considering what Ron's reaction might be if he discovered the underlying motivation for the trip, he decided against it.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the store they were greeted by Oliver Wood, who worked there part-time when he wasn't training or playing with Puddlemere United. After a warm greeting and a quick catch up with his old team captain, Harry got straight to business and asked him if he knew of a good supplier of gym equipment. Oliver nodded his head and answered in the affirmative, excusing himself as he popped into the back room to find the contact details. Sirius' attention was caught by the new Firebolt in the window and Remus wandered over with him to check it out, while Harry was content to stand at the counter admiring the Quidditch memorabilia hanging up on the back wall. Oliver emerged triumphantly waving a slip of paper, and when he got to where Harry was he enquired ever so softly, "is that your Godfather? Sirius Black? Back from the veil?" Harry hadn't got sick of this sort of question yet, especially when it came from an old friend, and so he replied, "Yeah, incredible isn't it?

"Incredible and then some!" returned Oliver, clearly impressed.

Harry caught the attention of the other two, who rejoined him at the counter, and Oliver explained to them that this guy who sold the gym equipment had just opened a new shop in Hogsmeade, on the second floor of a newly refurbished building. They thanked him very much and as they were saying their goodbyes Harry mentioned that they were going along to the game this Sunday, so they'd be expecting a stand out performance from him. Oliver grinned and promised his very best effort in that case. The last thing he said struck an interesting chord, in light of the morning's developments. "Is Hermione coming too? I bumped in to her in Diagon Alley a few weeks back and I've been meaning to take her out for coffee." He didn't sound the least bit cocky about it, just genuinely interested. Sirius was gobsmacked at the emergence of yet another contender, but Harry responded casually with, "Well no not this one, but I think she's pretty keen to come to another when she gets back from holidays."

"Brilliant," said Oliver enthusiastically, "well I'll see you boys on Sunday then." And he gave them a wink and a smile as they left the shop.

As they wandered off down the road, back in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, Remus chuckled and remarked. "Wow I'm going to have to start writing these names down on some sort of list, just so we can keep track of all her prospective suitors." He jabbed Sirius in the ribs once he'd finished, just to ensure a response of some sort. "I'm glad my misfortunes give you a giggle, Moony. Your entertainment is of course my number one priority." And he frowned at his old friend. Harry meanwhile found it all a bit funny as well, but had limited his outward expression of it to a broad smile.

Approximately 15 minutes later they were opening the door to 'Barbells and Boxing Gloves', being greeted upon entry by Axel Elrod the very man Oliver had referred them to. The shop was quite well kitted-out considering it was only new, and there seemed to be everything from protein powder to exercise bikes. Harry, Sirius and Remus greeted the man in a friendly manner, and told him they'd got the word from a reliable source that he was the man to see for gym equipment. He modestly accepted this accolade and asked them what they were looking for. At this point Sirius took the reigns of the conversation and explained that he was looking for a home-gym style set-up that included all of the basics. Forty-five minutes and a cool thirty gold-galleons later, they emerged with a receipt and a guarantee that as they spoke the purchase was being 'express package apparated' to number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Sure enough, when they arrived home there were three enormous boxes waiting for them just inside the door. They'd been hoping that somehow the gym was going to be delivered pre-assembled – this was the world of magic after all – but no such luck. When they opened the boxes the first thing they saw were the instructions. So they each grabbed a box and carried it up to the old drawing room, which was now empty, save the pile of boxes that had been shrunk to fit in the cupboard. Remus opened up the windows to combat the lingering musty aroma that was fading, just not quickly enough, and they settled in for a few hours of bolting together bits of metal, in the hope that eventually it would all look like the pictures on the front of the manuals.

Considering that none of them were really all that familiar with the workings of muggle tools, or this kind of manual labor, the exercise went relatively smoothly. Harry very nearly broke a finger collecting it on a wayward swing with the hammer, and Sirius dropped one of the metal bars on his foot, which was already bruising, but apart from that, no dramas recorded. The finished products were a treadmill and two combo weights machines – not bad for a bunch of amateurs. After congratulating each other energetically for being so clever and skilled, the three of them headed downstairs for some lunch.

Remus, though exhausted, was still in organisation mode, and after swallowing a mouthful of his ham and salad sandwich he said, "righto well that should keep you busy for a few days, and later in the week I suppose we can go back to Diagon Alley and get you some new clothes or something," he smirked at Sirius, "you know, to smarten you up a bit." Harry laughed at this as well and added, "yeah and we can make an appointment for your haircut for some time next week, so it'll be all fresh for the ball. That'll be a great opportunity to impress her actually, she'll be all dressed up and thinking romantic thoughts, just like every other female in the room."

"I'm gonna have to conjure a manikin to practice dancing with I think, although I used to be pretty good at it way back when, I'll have you know. Thanks for this morning by the way you two, at last count you were forty percent hindrance and sixty percent help, so you made it over the line in the end." He smirked cheekily at them.

"On that note gentlemen," Remus said with a laugh, "I'm going to bid you good day and return to my humble abode. I'm revising my D.A.D.A. textbooks for next year. I'm up to book two but it's a slow road I'm afraid, so I'd best get back to it." He tipped his head at Harry and Sirius and disappeared in the direction of the fireplace. A few short seconds later there was a pop and home he'd gone.

"Right, well I'm going for a nap I think," said Harry, half way through cleaning his lunch dishes, "I'm exhausted and we didn't even use the bloody gym yet."

"Well you've sold me," responded Sirius, "I'm going to clean up here and grab a bit of shut eye myself I think."

Harry set off for his room, with Sirius not far behind, but the older man had a stop-off he wanted to make before he turned in for the afternoon. He wandered on up to the third level of his enormous old house and peered in through the door of the drawing room turned gym.

_All systems go then,_ he thought to himself, _if she likes fit and healthy, then that's what she'll get. _


	13. Chapter 13

Life Number Three

Chapter 13

The remainder of the week passed by rather quietly at Grimmauld. Harry didn't have any other days off, so he spent the daylight hours either at work or at uni. Sirius had fallen into a nice daily routine combining morning and afternoon sessions in the gym, and filling the space in between either with cleaning more of the upstairs of the house, visiting Remus at the cottage, or catching up on some reading himself. So far he'd already caught both Harry and Remus sneaking into the gym for a workout and they had subsequently relinquished the right to tease him on that particular front.

Tonks had invited them round for dinner on Wednesday night, and they'd spent a good few hours there eating, drinking and chatting. She'd mentioned that she had the day off on Friday and Sirius, without giving any more away than he needed to, asked whether she might like to come to Diagon Alley that day to help him pick out some new clothes. As much as he valued Remus' opinion, "a man who wears a different shade of brown on every day of the week should not be my only fashion advisor." When she stopped laughing at Remus' injured expression, she accepted with a smile and they arranged to meet at Grimmauld and floo in from there.

Until then, Remus had not told her anything about Sirius' secret motivation for his self-improvement, however when she realised about an hour into the trip that her cousin was completely restocking his wardrobe, it dawned on her that this had to be something to do with a woman, or possibly even several women, knowing Sirius' history. She knew that if she asked him straight up he would categorically deny it, so instead she decided that her challenge was to weasel the information out of her boyfriend and his old friend, slowly but surely. She wished, ironically enough, that Hermione were there to help her figure it out, knowing how much the young witch loved a bit of a juicy romantic mystery.

Sirius had decided that as well as something flash to wear to the ball, he also needed to stock up on some more 'muggle-looking' clothes, to supplement his rather gothic collection of black jeans and waistcoats. Tonks suggested that they get the big one out of the way first, and head over to Twilfit & Tatting's to look for some dress robes. After trying on about five different sets, Sirius' enthusiasm for the exercise was waning, and the three of them hadn't been able to agree on which one they liked the most. So in the interest of everyone's mental health he'd bought two pairs; the first was Tonk's choice – a dark grey cape and trousers with a jade green waistcoat and tie; and the second was the one he and Remus had liked the most – a black cape and trousers with a burgundy waistcoat and tie. He'd just wait and see which one grew on him more in the coming week. Remus suggested that they stop for coffee at this point before they hit the trendy muggle clothes shops. Despite the fact that this was indeed Wizarding London, muggle clothes were big business around here, and there were no less than ten different shops to try out down the other end of the Alley.

As they sat and waited for their coffees and cakes to arrive, Tonks began her inquiries with a bit of simple prodding. "So cousin, I'd like to think you were going to get all dressed up just for us, but something tells me you've probably got a different audience in mind. Are you going to make this simple and reveal the object of your affections, or will I have to poke and pry it out of you?" Remus was possibly even more interested than Tonks in how Sirius was going to answer this question.

"Well, well, you're certainly taking this all a lot more seriously than I am. It's been a while since I bought new clothes, that's all. I'm not getting any younger and I'm not doing myself any favours wandering around looking like a gothic relic. I just feel like a fresh look that's all, but by all means include me in whatever highly romantic fairytale you've got playing out inside that head of yours."

_Nicely evaded for the moment there Padfoot, but when you come home next week with your hair all cut off she'll need a fair bit more convincing I'd say._ Remus thought to himself, as the coffees arrived.

When they'd finished they set off down the Alley and did spend the best part of about two hours there, while all three of them actually tried on several different numbers. Tonks' best advice to Sirius had been to buy outfits, not single pieces, because she didn't trust his ability to put them properly together if he didn't buy them already matching. So every time he saw a shirt or sweater that he liked, she made him try it on with a pair of jeans or trousers. After the remarks made about his preference for brown at the dinner table the other night, Remus had his mind set on buying something blue, green or even red, before the day was out, just to prove a point. Although whether or not the purchase would ever see the light of day outside of his wardrobe, was another matter entirely. Tonks also couldn't resist the temptation to buy a few new tops and a new pair of cargos to go with, especially since Remus was appreciating them as she tried them on.

So, having put the second tiniest little dint in his platinum credit card in less than a week, Sirius returned home rather pleased with the day's purchases, and feeling more and more like a new man with every passing moment. He'd successfully dodged revealing anything about Hermione to Tonks, which was very important indeed, since he knew that women were not always good romantic secret keepers. Now his task was simply to knuckle down and concentrate on sticking to his routine until the end of next week.

It was becoming a more and more regular occurrence that Sirius would be joined by either Remus, or Harry, or both of them, when he was completing his gym sessions. So much so that he'd ordered another treadmill for use in peak hour. It seemed that Hermione was not the only witch who liked a man who treated his body with care and attention; both Tonks and Ginny expressed a sincere approval of the new gym set up as well, and were very encouraging of their respective beau's taking advantage of such a convenience. So, each morning and afternoon at least one of them could be found in that sacred room on the third floor, almost enduring a heart attack for the sake of that special someone in their life.

-------

By the middle of the second week of Hermione's holiday, Tonks' investigations had progressed to the point where she'd confirmed that there was in fact one particular young woman who Sirius had his eye on. She'd discovered this when she'd flooed into Grimmauld on Tuesday afternoon to make dinner and overheard a mention of her when they were descending the stairs. No name, frustratingly enough, but definite confirmation of the existence of said young woman. She couldn't help herself but taunt her cousin a little further when the three men made it into the kitchen. "Wow Sirius, this bird must really be something if you're putting all this effort in just to impress her. And don't try to deny it now, because I just heard you talking about her coming down the stairs."

"Alright, you win," the exhausted man submitted. "There is someone I want to impress and yes she is worth all of this effort, I believe."

Tonks smiled at him as Remus almost got away with giving her a big sweaty hug. "Well as long as you're being honest I'll say that whoever she is she's certainly having a positive effect. I haven't seen you look this good, or have so much energy in your whole life, and you've only been going at it for a week.

"I'll take that as a compliment and ignore the fact that it implies that I've looked wretched for thirty-nine years." Sirius returned with a grin.

"You boys had better go and get yourselves cleaned up. I'm making pies for dinner and they'll be ready in about half an hour." They did as they were told and the pies turned out to be fantastic.

Hours later, when Remus and Tonks were about to floo home, Remus called out that he'd see Sirius in the morning at about 10 for 'the appointment'.

"What appointment is this? Anything I should know about?" Tonks inquired with some concern.

"No, nothing to worry about, you'll see in good time." Sirius reassured her. "Right you are Moony, I'll see you in the morning." And off they went.

-------

"Are you still alright with the idea of having your locks chopped off?" Asked Harry a little later when he and Sirius were having a game of chess in the study.

"Yeah, of course. A change is as good as a holiday and all that. I'm just a bit nervous I guess. I mean I don't actually think I've ever had my hair properly cut before. My mother," Harry shuddered at the thought of the awful old woman, "used to chop the ends off when she noticed them dangling in my dinner. Told me I looked like I'd descended from rats, which was completely unacceptable of course, for old Walburga." Sirius screwed his face up at the thought of the woman who'd not had a single nurturing bone in her entire body. "But apart from that it's been like this for as long as I can remember."

"Thank Merlin for Hogwarts hey," said Harry, "or neither of us would have had anything to smile about for the first 18 years of our lives."

"You've got that right," replied his Godfather smiling, always happy to be reminded of his heydays, and even happier to be reminded of what he shared in common with Harry.

When they finished their game – Sirius had won a closely fought contest in the end, between queens and knights – they headed off to their respective bedrooms for a good night's sleep. Sirius knew that he'd need to be chirpy and open-minded tomorrow to sit still and watch the barber cut off the curls that had been synonymous with him for so very long.

-------

He took one more look in the mirror before heading downstairs. _Oh, harden up old boy; you can always grow it back if you don't like it. Just think of the look on her face when she sees you NOT looking like a scruffy dog for the first time ever._

"Come on Pads, we don't want to be late, old Boris might get grumpy and give you a mohawk." Remus was calling out from downstairs.

"Alright, alright, let's get this over with." Sirius called as he bounded down the stairs – he certainly did have more energy these days, and not just because Hermione was due back tomorrow.

The two of them promptly apparated to the alley beside the Three Broomsticks, and headed up the road to Boris Blondie's Barber Shop.

"Ah Mr Black, Mr Lupin, so pleased to see you! I trust that we'll be able to provide a satisfactory service to your needs today."

"Well just the usual for me thanks Boris, but Sirius here has slightly bigger plans." Remus explained to the friendly, small-framed older man.

Boris directed his next question to Sirius, "Is that so? Well what did you have in mind Sir? Any style in particular?"

"Umm, I want something that looks neat and just sort of manages itself really. What do you suggest?"

"Well, when neatness and convenience is in order I usually recommend short back and sides, with a little more length on top. I mean, it won't tidy itself when you get out of bed or anything like that, but as long as you wet it in the morning it'll behave itself. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, well you're the pro so that sounds fine and I'll just let you take the reins hey?" Said Sirius, sounding much more confident than he was truly feeling.

"You flatter me Mr Black, but a good choice none the less." Boris beamed. He sat Sirius down in a black leather chair in front of a big old mirror and put a cape around his shoulders to catch what was presumably going to be quite a bit of hair.

Remus took a seat by the window beside them and while Boris was getting set up, Remus was marvelling at the way a young apprentice was sweeping the floor with a broom charm out of one hand, and making coffee with a stirring charm out of the other. _That's impressive_, he thought to himself. When the boy carried the coffees over for him and Sirius, he complimented him on his co–ordination, to which the boy replied, "thank you very much Sir, it got a bit messy while I was practicing, but I seem to have it down pat now." And smiled appreciatively.

"Right, all set." Boris was ready to go it seemed, with his trusty scissors in hand. "Time to say goodbye to this scruff." He looked rather more excited than you'd think about a haircut, but when Sirius nodded in the mirror he immediately began chopping enthusiastically. Remus could have sworn he heard Sirius whimper when the first chunk fell to the floor, but after that he calmed down considerably, no doubt relaxing by reminding himself why he was doing this in the first place.

About an hour, and more than a few worried expressions from Sirius, later, both Remus and Sirius emerged from the Barber Shop looking very dapper. Remus had just had a trim, but Sirius really had undergone a transformation. He did have short back and sides, with enough on top that he could run his fingers through and tousle if he wanted to. Boris had cleaned up his beard and moustache as well, so that they were the same length all the way round, and they now only encircled his mouth and chin, rather than reaching right up to his hairline. Despite his initial concerns, Sirius was happy with his decision and much to Remus' amusement, he was relishing every opportunity to look at himself as they passed by shop windows.

Remus managed to convince a stubborn Sirius to go to The Three Broomsticks for a beer before they apparated home. Understandably still a bit jaded by his last visit there, Sirius reluctantly agreed, although made it clear he'd be leaving if anyone so much as looked at him twice. Luckily it was quiet, with only two other tables occupied. The lunch rush wasn't due for about another half hour. Since Sirius looked entirely different to his old self, not even Madam Rosmerta noticed him, which was both pleasing and a little disappointing at the same time. He certainly hoped he wasn't going to go unnoticed by everyone.

Right, so yes I do feel as though I might have just committed the eighth deadly sin by cutting Sirius' hair. Let me know what your opinion is on the matter. Bear in mind that the look I'm going for is Gary Oldman in 'Air Force One'. My reasoning is simply that Hermione just wouldn't go for scruffy Sirius. I mean I would, and some of you might also, but she probably wouldn't.


	14. Chapter 14

Life Number Three

Chapter 14

"For the love of Merlin, wow you look like a new man! This woman must be quite something. You've barely shaved since you got back, and suddenly this!" Tonks was flabbergasted, to say the least, when Remus and Sirius apparated into the cottage. Sirius had thought about letting Remus go home unaccompanied, to avoid the possible prying from his cousin, but he did want a female opinion about the standard of his new 'do', so here he was. "All jokes aside, it looks great; very neat and striking. Must be a good girl I think. Bit of a change for you, but a promising sign definitely. That's a few more naughty names I'll be crossing off my list of possibles. Actually hang on, that's all of the names gone now. Oh dear."

Sirius swatted her with the nearest tea-towel at the suggestion that he never took any interest in morally sound, civilised women. The grin on Tonks' face afterwards made it clear that rather than being hurt, she was very pleased with herself for having elicited such a reaction.

"Now now you two, play nicely." Remus was watching the shenanigans as he made tea for three."

"So honestly though, I think you should tell me who this bird is that you're hoping to catch, because you may well benefit from my help cousin, particularly if she's the sort I'm thinking of now."

"No can do I'm afraid," was Sirius' simple reply. "You're not silly, you'll figure it out before too long, but I'm not giving you any help in the meantime. If I'm going to have my dignity squashed, I'd rather I didn't have an audience thanks very much."

"Well I don't see how you could be so negative about your chances when you've gone to such lengths already. The Sirius I know wouldn't have done that if he didn't think there was some chance of success in this venture."

"Hmmm, well maybe, we'll see." He was trying not to get his hopes up, although he did have every intention of giving this his very best shot. And besides, as long as he hadn't imagined the sparks flying between them in their last couple of interactions, then there was some hope at least. Part of him was also admittedly a little worried about what the reaction would be if people found out that he had his eyes on a woman who was nearly half his age.

"Right, well I've got to get ready for work. So I'll leave you to it." Announced Tonks once she'd finished her tea. She kissed Remus lovingly on the head as she walked passed him. "I'll come over tomorrow night Sirius and make something nice for dinner; bit of a welcome back Mione celebration."

"Sounds great, I'm sure she'll love to see you both."

Once his beloved was well out of earshot, Remus posed a serious question to his old friend. "Do you think you're up to this? I mean, as much as it might work out splendidly, and of course that's what I'm hoping for. There's also a very real chance that it won't work out, and then you're living arrangements and your relationship with Harry could both be jeopardised."

"I know Moony, and don't worry, I'm not going to do anything rash. I mean whether or not she's interested, these things I've done in the last week or so, they're good for me, good for my new life." His logic was flawless, but secretly he was not as blasé about it as he was trying to sound. "I've no idea how it'll turn out, all I know is that I feel something when she's near me, you know, something I haven't felt before. I've at least got to try, otherwise I'll be watching her being courted by some other lucky sod, wondering whether I could have made her happier. All I'm doing is putting myself in the game. At least this way, I'll know for sure. Too many years of my life have been wasted already just sitting around waiting for things to happen."

"So tomorrow night if I ask you the same question, do you think you'll have the same answer?" Remus asked after a thoughtful pause.

"Probably not, you know me, lots of hot air. But it was a pretty stirring pep talk don't you think?" He smiled weakly at his friend across the table.

"It almost sold me," was all Remus said in reply.

-------

Sirius flooed home and went about what could now be called his usual routine, for the remainder of the afternoon. He was trying not to think about tomorrow, but already the cogs were churning. He'd already made a deal with himself that he wasn't going to embark upon any more conversations about the touchy subject for a while, lest it become common knowledge that he spent an entire fortnight making himself over in some vain attempt to catch the attention of a 19 year old. The thrill of it all had been getting the better of him, and he'd turned what could easily have been a very low key, close to the chest matter, into a far more public issue than he really wanted. There were so very many ways that this could go wrong, and he didn't at the end of it all want to lose the respect of his friends and his godson on account of his poor self-control. He'd always been impulsive and idealistic – something else he needed to work on. From now on, he was going to calm down and relax about everything. If things were meant to happen then hopefully he'd given them enough of a push that the balls would roll on their own now. At this point he was also preparing himself for the worst, as a feeble attempt at self-preservation. If she came home engaged, or with plans to move out, or with Viktor himself in tow, then he'd survive; life would go on. _Right?_

Over dinner that night Sirius told Harry earnestly that he didn't want this to become a bigger thing than it was, and that he'd really appreciate it if it could be kept under absolute lock-and –key, no hinting, no allusions to it in conversation, no nothing. Harry was a little taken aback by how serious his godfather seemed, and seeing genuine pleading in his eyes, he agreed to keep it very close to his chest. Harry wasn't actually going to be there when she arrived home tomorrow around lunch time, he had to work, but he was glad, because he didn't want to give anything away accidentally.

-------

So, Thursday morning began like any other. Sirius and Harry sat and ate breakfast together, neither saying all that much really since their primary topic of conversation for the last little while had been officially closed. It wasn't unpleasant, just quiet, and when Harry left for work Sirius headed up to the gym. This day was going to be no different to any other if he had his way.

At about 10:30 Remus arrived and the two of them sat in the study playing chess for a good hour or so. In this time Sirius managed to give Remus the same talk that he'd given Harry last night, and the matter was officially settled. With neither of them broaching the subject, he would be able to keep things completely under wraps and nothing would become unnecessarily awkward. He hoped.

By the 50th time that Sirius had checked the clock, he'd actually started thinking that perhaps it would be better if he went out, somewhere, anywhere. Remus had every intention of sitting in the lounge room waiting for her to arrive. That was a normal Remus thing to do. It wasn't a Sirius thing to do however, and if he was sitting there reading - something he was sure Hermione thought he wasn't actually capable of – that would look suspicious to say the least. It was bad enough that the last thing he'd done before she left was so darned clumsy; if he followed it up with a similar performance today, she was sure to see through his disguise, and no doubt run a mile.

"I'll be in my room if you're looking for me," he said casually as he passed Remus on his way to the stairs.

"Hang on, she'll be here in a minute. Don't you want to be here or something?"

"No, I'll hear her when she arrives, and if not, call me yeah?"

"Right, okay." Remus was perplexed but figured that Sirius knew what he was doing.

Once Sirius was safely tucked away in his room, he got into another intense discussion with the mirror. The primary motivator for which was the ridiculous palpitations happening between his abdomen and collar-bone.

Right Black, pull yourself together then. You've been alright so far, with your plans and your processes, but now you need to produce my friend. If she can't see you as a strong, sensible, controlled character, then you haven't got a chance. So when she lands in that living room, the cool cucumber comes on, for everybody's sake.

He eyeballed himself for long enough to calm down, and he even got so far as to stop pacing and sit down on the bed. Then he heard her voice, excitedly greeting Remus, and he felt like jelly from the hair down.

It's alright, you can just stay here. It's not like she's expecting you to rush down and greet her or anything. Just sit, chill out, sit, and chill out, breath, no worries.

"Hey Padfoot! Hermione's here, come down and say hello!" Remus was bellowing at him from downstairs.

"Okay! Great! Coming!" _Craaaaaaaaapppp._

-------

Hermione was more than usually happy to be home. Sure her holiday had been lovely, but her sentiments hadn't changed in the last fortnight. She still felt a strange desire to be near that certain somebody, and as much as she'd really earnestly tried to shake those feelings, she just couldn't. The fact that he'd given her the protection pendant just sealed the deal for her unfortunately, and she hadn't had a moment's reprieve from the thought of him from that moment on. She had however, loosened up about the whole situation considerably with the help of her holiday spirit. She wasn't expecting, or even wanting him to rush over and carry her off into the sunset. She was an intelligent girl after all. But like any good crush, nothing actually needed to happen to make her weak at the knees, and that was fine by her. It wasn't a sin for her heart to beat a little faster when he was around, it actually felt quite nice, and as long as she couldn't help it anyway there was no point in fighting. She just hoped that she wasn't going to embarrass herself. She was sure he'd be horrified if he found out, as no doubt would everybody else, so secrecy and nonchalance were the name of her game.

When she arrived in the living room Remus was there waiting, as per usual and she gave him a big hug and a big kiss on the cheek.

"Welcome home happy traveller! You look relaxed and fantastic." Remus was giving as good as he got in the hug stakes and beaming happily as he did so.

"Yeah I'm feeling great. Just what the doctor ordered I think. Romania was incredible once again, and my mother was actually less neurotic than usual this time would you believe."

"That's great. No wonder you look so happy then. Hang on a sec, Sirius is upstairs, he wanted me to call him when you got here."

""Hey Padfoot! Hermione's here, come down and say hello!"

"How's he been going?" Hermione thought a general inquiry about the man's health was safe enough ground to tread.

With a cheeky grin, Remus replied, "Well actually he's doing remarkably well, in fact I think you'd say he's made some real progress."

_Great, he's made progress, he's got a girlfriend you mean, and he's probably getting laid and everything._ She suddenly had to conceal what was almost a frown, and felt quite nauseous, but it didn't last long, because she caught sight of Sirius coming down the stairs, and she became instantly unaware of anything else.

She gasped before she could help herself, noticing that he only just looked like Sirius now. He'd had all his hair cut off. He looked neat, and tidy……………..and absolutely gorgeous. She dearly hoped she hadn't thought that aloud as well, but her mind was only just keeping up with her eyes.

"Hermione, welcome back. You look really well." The voice emanating from the incredibly remastered face was the one she knew. The one she'd gotten used to hearing around the house since he'd been back.

It took her longer than it should have, by her own standards, but she did regain her capacity for verbal communication in time to reply with, "Hi Sirius, you look great yourself. You sure you haven't been on some kind of holiday as well?"

"Haha, no, nothing that exciting. Boris the Barber's doesn't quite count as a holiday I'm afraid. No palm trees, and definitely no pool." He smiled at her and she thought she might faint.

Now that Sirius was at the bottom of the stairs he felt much better. It had been touch and go for a minute there on a few steps, when she'd turned around smiling at him and proceeded to tell him he looked great.

"Right Pads, do you want to take Mione's bags up to her room, and I'll go and make us a cuppa. I can't wait to hear all about that dragon exhibition." Remus had obviously taken Sirius' lecture to heart and was doing his level best to be even more normal than normal. As he headed for the kitchen, leaving Sirius and Hermione standing in the living room together, Sirius was silently cursing his obedience.

"Would you just like them in your room?"

"Umm, yes please. I'd better come up too just in case I've left some sort of minefield inside the door." _What like a whole bunch of dirty undies? Lovely Granger, way to play it cool._

"Well, after you." Sirius smiled again, he seemed to be doing a lot of that. _She's not comfortable with me going into her room without her. She probably thinks I'm going to steal a pair of knickers or something. Oh Merlin._

Hermione grabbed her backpack and Sirius carried her suitcase and duffle bag, one in each hand. He followed her up the stairs, cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do at this point was trip over and land in a pile of her personal belongings. She quickly made it to the door and had a check inside to make sure there were no incriminating items lying around for him to be horrified by. Once he'd put the bags down she thanked him very much and without further ado, neither feeling all that comfortable, they headed back downstairs. Sirius waved his hand to usher her down the stairs before himself. Even if he was falling apart inside he could at least uphold some manners. _Why is this so awkward? _Each of them was thinking to themselves as they arrived in the kitchen. They had after all been getting along rather well in the last couple of days before Hermione had left.

Hermione did most of the talking over tea, which suited her fine because it didn't give her any time to think. Remus and Sirius were listening intently and both asking a number of thoughtful questions throughout, which kept her from feeling like she was boring them to death. The tension seemed to have cleared in the air for now, thank goodness, and they sat there for quite some time in pleasant, comfortable company.

When Harry and Tonks arrived, straight from the Ministry, there were more hugs and greetings. More compliments about how relaxed and well Hermione looked and more tales to tell about Romania and the Granger family. Tonks made a lovely roast dinner which everybody enjoyed, but none so much as the guest of honour, having not really eaten much at all that day. By the end of the evening Hermione was almost falling asleep at the table. Sirius wasn't far behind, having expended quite a bit of nervous energy in the last 24 hours. Just before she and Remus left to return to their cottage, Tonks told Hermione that she had the afternoon off tomorrow, if she wanted to go to Diagon Alley to get an outfit for the ball. Hermione was very enthusiastic about the suggestion and they arranged to leave Grimmauld together at 3pm.

So, by the end of what could have been a very eventful evening, everything had gone rather smoothly. Remus and Harry both went to bed proud of themselves for not giving anything away, and amused at the thought of what Sirius might be thinking, having just heard the girls make plans to go ball gown shopping. Tonks went to bed still frustrated that she hadn't figured out who her cousin had fallen for. Hermione went to bed, no actually more like passed out, and wasn't actually thinking anything at all, and finally Sirius went to bed congratulating himself on not looking like a total fool, and quietly excited about the ball, and indeed the belle.


	15. Chapter 15

Life Number Three

Chapter 15

Hermione woke the following morning keen for eggs on toast. Although it was quite a bit earlier than she intended to get up, she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so she hopped up, promising herself a nap later in the morning. She quietly made her way down the stairs, not wanting to wake either of the boys, and got straight to work satisfying her craving when she hit the kitchen. About half an hour later she had produced a very tasty looking plate of toast, eggs and bacon and brewed herself a steaming hot mug of delicious dark roast coffee. She sat there quite content with being on her own, in fact revelling in the peace and quiet. She hadn't eaten breakfast by herself in two weeks, and she had sorely missed her own good company.

When she'd finished eating and her elbows were now propped up on the table, her glorious smelling coffee wedged between the two palms of her hands, she heard an unexpected guest arrive in the fireplace. Odd at this time of morning, but luckily her relaxed holiday mindset hadn't evaporated just yet, so instead of falling into a mild panic, she simply called out into the living room, "Good morning whoever you are."

To her relief, Remus popped his head around the corner and said good morning. "I didn't think anyone would be up over here yet. I just came to use the gym before breakfast."

Hermione looked a little confused by this and promptly inquired, "we have a gym?" To which Remus nodded in response.

"I tell you, you go away for a few weeks and when you return people have had complete makeovers and you've got new rooms in your house." She smiled at her own comedic wit.

Remus chuckled, "it was Sirius' idea actually. He was feeling really worse for wear in the fitness department and wanted to be able to exercise in the quiet surroundings of his own home. Harry and I have since been enjoying the benefits of having a very wealthy friend and godfather who isn't shy of shelling out a few quid to do things properly."

Remus hadn't originally intended for it to sound like a plug for Sirius, but once he'd said it, he figured a bit of gentle nudging wouldn't hurt.

"Is that right? Well he certainly is looking much better than he was when I left." When she realised Remus was grinning cheekily at that comment she quickly added, "much healthier that is," and tried desperately to conceal her embarrassment.

"Well I'm sure he'd be glad to know that someone has noticed." He returned, still smirking.

Knowing that this next comment might lead to dangerous ground, but being unstoppably curious anyway, she said, "Yes, he seems to have been on quite the self-improvement kick. Might there be someone he's trying to impress?"

"That may well be the case. But he hasn't told me about anyone special." Remus wanted to cast off her obvious impression that Sirius was seeing someone, without giving away too much. He could tell that the conversation was leading into murky waters so he told her he'd be back down for one of those delightful coffees when he'd finished his workout, and disappeared out of sight and up the stairs.

Having plenty to mull over now, Hermione continued to sit there in contemplation, listening closely, she heard two bedroom doors open and close, and two sets of footsteps clanking up the stairs to the third level, which is where she had decided the gym must be. _That must have been why he was cleaning out the old drawing room._ _I'll have to go and check it out later when it's not full of sweaty men. _

As she finally reached the end of her coffee, the domestic goddess in her took over and she decided that the nice thing to do here would be to make them all some breakfast as well. She knew Harry would have to go in to work and probably wouldn't have time to make himself anything wholesome, so motivated by this and most certainly not a desire to impress said friend's godfather, she set to work. The eggs went into one pan, and the bacon in another. She decided to scramble the eggs, for no particular reason but that she felt like it, it didn't even cross her mind that they were Sirius' favourite.

Her efforts were rewarded beyond happiness when they each traipsed into the kitchen one after the other, hair wet from just showering and looking exhausted but very pleased with themselves. Once they clapped eyes on the delicious breakfast that was being served for them, they were looking even more pleased. Harry had dressed for work and so was being extra careful not to spill his tomato-sauce drenched mouthfuls on his robes. Remus and Sirius on the other hand had changed into plain old house clothes, but it did not escape Hermione's notice that Sirius was wearing blue, not black, and a polo shirt, not a trench coat.

_Scrambled eggs_, Sirius had thought to himself as he entered the kitchen, smiling in a 'good morning' way at the brunette goddess herself. _Does she know they're my favourite_?

Remus was the first to outwardly compliment the chef. "Hermione, this is simply delicious. Have I told you how happy I am that you're back?" And he beamed widely at her. Harry and Sirius both agreed energetically and when he caught her eye, Sirius smiled most appreciatively at her. Whether she'd meant to or not, she'd made his favourite breakfast and deserved to be thanked. She met his gaze and smiled back, silently communicating that the pleasure was just as much hers as theirs.

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Mid morning found Hermione sleeping in the study, having gone there with the intention of reading one of the new books she'd picked up on her holiday. She'd fallen asleep in the middle of page 10 and was now snoring ever so quietly into the cushiony arm of the suede sofa. Sirius couldn't help himself but watch her. He'd initially headed for the study to do some reading himself, but he'd forgotten that purpose upon seeing her curled up on the couch, her beautiful brown ringlets sitting gracefully on her cheek. He knew it'd look terrible if she were to wake up and find him sitting in the armchair across from her. After all, he hadn't been there when she fell asleep. So, he very quietly crossed the room to one of the big old bookcases and stood for a moment selecting a book to read. As he turned around to head out of the room once again, her eyes fluttered open. Luckily for her she was still sleepy enough not to be the least bit uncomfortable in this situation. He cursed himself for having been too noisy, and apologised sincerely for having woken her up. "It's alright," she murmured sleepily. "It's not really fair for me to commandeer the study for sleeping when I have a perfectly good bedroom down the hall." She smiled her forgiveness.

"Must be a really interesting read you've got there," Sirius commented in jest. He couldn't help initiating a conversation, even though he knew she was sleepy. He wanted to talk to her like they had in the drawing room that day; he wanted to share comfortable moments with her again.

"Ha," she replied softly, "it wasn't the book's fault I don't think, I'm still exhausted and I woke up way earlier than I should have." She continued to speak as she wriggled around, getting comfortable again in the upright position with her legs crossed. "Gosh, I need a holiday to recover from my holiday. How bad is that?" She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to wake up a bit. All the while he couldn't take his eyes off her or wipe the smile from his mouth. "Well at least now that you're here you can give me a shove if I start drifting off again. I think I'd better start back at the beginning. Apparently I was up to page ten," she lifted the book up to show him the evidence, "but if you asked me what it was about so far I couldn't tell you for the life of me." She giggled to herself. She cleared the other end of the couch and gestured casually for him to sit down next to her.

As he sat down he spoke for the first time in a few minutes, having been thinking all this time about what would be a good thing to say. "Don't be too hasty to pluck yourself out of that holiday mood, I think you're allowed a few days to get back into the swing of things. Besides, if it were me I'd want to milk it for everything it was worth." He grinned at her encouragingly. She smiled at him in reply and bunkered down for a second shot at the beginning of her book. He opened his as well and there they sat in comfortable silence, each pretending to be thoroughly engrossed in their book, although in honesty neither was paying any attention to the words on the page at all.

After a brief while he looked over at her, in the hope of catching a quick glance at her beautiful concentrated face. When he did however he was a little startled, but nonetheless pleased to find her already gazing at him. She blushed a little when he first looked up (it seemed that the sleepy nonchalance was wearing off) but then proceeded to share with him what it was she'd been pondering. "Can I ask what your book is about? It's just that I've never seen you reading anything except the paper before."

_I knew it! She thought I was the intellectual equivalent of a grasshopper._

He lifted it up happily to show her the front cover, which read, 'Magical Interpretations of the Egyptian Pyramids: What the Muggles Just Don't Know'. "It's interesting enough, although I wouldn't want to sit here for hours reading it, gets a bit dry, you know." He lifted his eyebrows and gave her a knowing smile. "But it's always interesting to compare the way that muggles interpret things with the way we do."

His thoughtful comments were music to her ears, She found out quite a while ago from Remus that Sirius was actually very clever, and despite the fact that he and James were royal mischief makers, he did end up scoring very highly on his NEWT's when he was at school, without any cheating. She had no doubt that if he hadn't run into such a lot of bad luck he'd be one of the greatest Aurors the world had ever seen by now. She was most pleasantly surprised to finally see proof of how intellectual he could be.

"Well you'll have to give me a review of it when you're done. It sounds like the sort of book I'd enjoy reading. I'm always fascinated by anything related to Ancient Runes."

"Yes, we should swap when we finish, unless one of them turns out to be utterly brain-melting." He pulled a frightened face to emphasise his point. "Normally I'd never assume to be able to finish at the same pace you do, but since I haven't got a lot else going on at the moment I should be able to keep up."

She smiled at the compliment, but couldn't help mention at this point, the new addition to the house, in an effort to pry out any information about the underlying motivation for its installation. "Not so much spare time as you had before though, what with your new gym and all."

He looked a little shocked that she even knew about it.

_Well I don't know how long you thought you'd be able to keep it a secret. I do live here you know._ But she still offered him an explanation.

"Remus flooed in this morning while I was having breakfast, and since it was only about 7am he had to explain himself or I would have assumed Tonks had kicked him out."

"Oh of course, yeah. Well………. I thought it was about time I started looking after myself a bit better. I'm not trying to become one of those neckless, muscle-bound monsters or anything. I don't think that would be a good look." He snickered, as he looked down at his slim build with his arms open for her to accept his logic. "But even some small level of fitness would be an improvement on none, so yes, that's one of my new projects." He was glad that he was able to explain all this to her. After all, it was her he was most hoping to impress with his so called 'new projects."

"Well good for you," she was smiling her genuine approval, both of the new set-up and of his new outlook. Her mind by this stage was racing with terribly unladylike thoughts of him all sweaty and running, or lifting heavy weights or any of those things he was likely to be doing up there. Combined with her discovery about his reading, it was almost enough to have her dribbling out the corner of her mouth. But of course she was smart and sophisticated, so instead she just went all flushed and quickly became engrossed once more in page five of 'Ancient Romanian Wizarding Culture'. They passed the next hour or so in pleasant, quiet company with one another, each becoming even more at ease as the day wore on.

When Hermione put the bookmark in her book and sighed, "that's enough for me I think," Sirius was understanding but secretly cursed the time for not passing more slowly. "I'm going to go and make myself some lunch before I go out with Tonks. Did you want a sandwich?" _Please say yes._

"That'd be lovely." Sirius replied, returning his own book to its rightful place on the shelf and following her down the stairs. "So the graduates clearly aren't the only ones who dress up for this ball then?" He knew this was a topic she'd like to talk about.

"No, fortunately they're not. They even let us oldies dress up as well," she beamed cheekily at him. "In fact they welcome it really. It makes the whole event seem all the more splendid when everyone gets into the spirit of things." She paused for a moment as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Does that mean you'll be wanting to join us this afternoon?" She wasn't sure why she'd said that. It wasn't as though the man had no clothing. In fact this big old house was full of expensive heirlooms, many of which were wearable and all of which were his. She was sure she sounded as though she was pleading him to chaperone her like a little girl alone in the city, and was relieved actually when he politely declined, explaining that he'd already sorted something out that he thought would do nicely.

That might be the only time she ever asks you to go out with her, and you said 'no' you silly git.

"To think, you'll be missing out on an entire afternoon of following us around clothing stores trying on some ridiculous number of dresses. I don't know why you'd possibly want to miss it?" She chuckled.

_Funny, I don't know why either? _Now Sirius was the one nearly salivating at the thought of watching this exquisite woman trying on stunning ball gowns.

He insisted on helping her prepare lunch, she wasn't his maid after all and, he quipped, "I'll never get better if I don't practice."

"Right, well in that case, what I really feel like for dinner is Carbonara." She was quick to reply. She loved the way he brought out her cheeky side.

Not another word was said about dinner, but the sandwiches turned out to be quite something. They sat and discussed a little more about her holiday, mainly the family stuff this time, as they ate slowly. Neither one of them was in any hurry to finish, so the arrival of Tonks in the living room was the only indication of exactly how long they'd been sitting there. "Merlin!" exclaimed Hermione. "What time is it?"

"Ahh, about quarter to three I think, " said Tonks, amused that her normally very well-organised friend was running late.

"It's alright, I'm sure it was Sirius' fault anyway. He's been disorganised from birth. Came out of the womb late and everything," joked Tonks about her cousin.

Sirius looked a little displeased about this insinuation, but what Hermione said next would warm his heart for hours.

"No, not at all. He wasn't talking to himself, so it was a joint effort." And she winked at him as she dashed out of the room and up the stairs.

He gazed lovingly after her without any concern for the fact that his already suspicious cousin was no doubt hunting for clues. Tonks did see the look in his eye, and considered for the briefest moment that Hermione could be the woman in his sights, but she nearly laughed at the absurdity of it. They were almost polar opposites. Not to mention the fact that every Wizard between the ages of 18 and 25 had at some point fancied her. Yes, he was her cousin, but he had much to prove about his form when it came to relationships, and the idea that Hermione would go for him, knowing all this, was just inconceivable.

Sirius caught her laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, just had a funny thought that's all."

"Right, well I'll leave you two to your shopping adventure. I'll see you later on. You and Remus may as well come for dinner again if you like. I'm cooking."

"Really, and what gourmet delights should we expect this time?

"Haven't decided yet," he lied, "but I'll try not to poison you." He smirked at her and headed up the stairs to his bedroom.

Seconds after Sirius disappeared into his room, Hermione emerged from hers, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a red t-shirt.

"Where did Sirius go?"

"Up to hibernate I believe." She gestured in the direction of his bedroom.

"Oh alright," said Hermione, sounding the slightest bit disappointed and quickly glancing towards his door. "We'd better be off then, you ready?"

Tonks nodded and they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, one after the other.


	16. Chapter 16

Life Number Three

Chapter 16

Tonks and Hermione spent a glorious afternoon moving from this dress shop to that, looking for the perfect gowns for the Graduation Ball. Neither of them had enjoyed good-quality girl time for a whole fortnight and so they were in fine form, gossipping, checking out guys and open minded to the idea of spending large amounts of their hard earned Ministry money. They had each tried on several numbers but were yet to make a choice between their favourites. So, they decided to stop and decide over coffee. Not surprisingly, they found several other faces in the café that they recognised as Hogwarts families, seemingly engaged in similar activities. It made them feel much better knowing that they weren't the only ones who'd left their preparations until the last minute. And besides, Hermione had a better excuse than most.

Feeling uninhibited in her very good mood, Hermione managed to casually slip Sirius' new haircut into the gossipy conversation, implying that it must have been Tonks who encouraged him in that direction. Her good friend honestly denied any involvement in it but agreed that it was about time he stopped trying to make his human form unrecognisable from his Animagus; a comment that made them both laugh.

Tonks, still oblivious to the secret crush that both Sirius and Hermione were harbouring, then proceeded to delve further into the mystery that was her cousin's heart. "If you ask me, I'd say these are the telltale signs of a man out to impress. I think there's a witch out there who's caught his fancy. Mind you I've never seen him try like this before. In fact I seem to remember that he never tried at all before, he just used to let them come to him, since it was a pretty foolproof plan. Mind you, he's a different man now."

"Well, added Hermione, believing her family values gave her some wisdom on this issue, "I suppose it was only a matter of time before that kind of lifestyle wasn't going to satisfy him any more. I mean, fair enough when you're younger, but if he ever wants to have a family or anything like that, he really needs to start looking for different relationships than what he sounds like he used to." And then after another sip of her coffee, "I much prefer the new grown up Sirius anyway, I mean of course I never knew him before, but he sounds like exactly the kind of guy I wouldn't have touched with a barge pole." They both chuckled at the idea of a swooning, skirt-chasing, scruffy-looking Sirius.

"I think the old dog's still in there somewhere though. Earlier on when I flooed in and you two were in the kitchen, I saw his eyes follow you all the way up the stairs."

Thankfully, when Hermione choked on her biscuit at that point, Tonks assumed it was out of sheer horror and disgust. And Hermione was keen to let her continue under that impression, as she shook her head. "Old habits die hard eh?" She responded with a disapproving smirk. Although secretly she wished she had a video-tape of it, so that she could examine it over and over to ascertain the exact level of adoration, if any, that was present.

Mustn't read too much into that. He was after all possibly the most notorious skirt-chaser in Wizarding London.

At any rate, that avenue of conversation ended there, as Tonks had no need to discuss it further, and Hermione simply couldn't. So they turned their attention back to the dresses. Tonks was tossing up between a royal blue number with no straps and a split in the side, and a red halter neck, with a lace up back and a staggered, frilly bottom. She seemed to be leaning more and more in the direction of the red one, particularly now that they had remembered the amount of dancing that usually went on at these events, and how inconvenient it would be to suddenly be outside of one's dress in the middle of the dance floor. Hermione, on the other hand was trying to decide between an emerald green gown, that was quite low-lying without being tarty, and had intricate patterns of diamantes over the stomach, and a burnt orange strapless, with a corset style top and a frilly, flowing bottom. She too chose to base her final decision on practicality and they went back to purchase the dresses with the straps.

After the hard part had been taken care of, they moved on to accessories and by the end of the trip they had dresses, shoes, clutches and jewellery, all perfectly matched. They were two very satisfied witches, exhausted but excited about the ball, now that they knew they wouldn't be wearing their pyjamas.

As soon as they arrived in the lounge room of Grimmauld, they were hit by a most delicious aroma, wafting from the direction of the kitchen. They were both ever so pleased to smell it because it meant that obviously they were not needed to cook. Never the less, while Tonks knew already that Sirius planned to make dinner, Hermione was rather surprised at the idea of one of the boys cooking something that smelled that good. Not half as surprised though as she was when upon entering the kitchen she saw that Sirius had just finished preparing Fettuccini Carbonara, that looked exquisite. And when he turned around smiling and looked at her, she hadn't quite finished looking awed, and so he was rewarded handsomely for his efforts. Without uttering a word he silently communicated that this was as per her request, by holding his arms out and bowing slightly. She laughed at him as she wandered over to where the food was sitting on the bench and took a deep breath in to smell the delightful aroma again. "My goodness Sirius this looks and smells amazing. I'll never make another joke about your cooking prowess ever again." He grinned at the idea of having pleasantly surprised her, and replied, "Well you haven't tasted it yet, but Remus and Harry had a try just before and they thought it was pretty alright………They're just upstairs at the moment I think, Harry's showing Remus some new Assignment he got given at uni."

"Alright, said Tonks, well we might go and get cleaned up for dinner and we'll be back in a jiffy. Don't let them eat it all without us!"

Looking around at the copious amounts of food before him Sirius smirked, "I don't think we'll be running out of anything in a hurry. Go on, off you go."

While Tonks was in the downstairs bathroom getting changed, she was pondering Hermione's reaction to dinner. _It's not bloody Pate de Foie Gras! If she doesn't watch herself she's going to give him the wrong impression entirely. It doesn't take much generally and he seems to be turning on the charm._ Of course if she had've known the truth she might have thought it all far more romantic.

Hermione meanwhile had gone up to her room to drop off her parcels and wash up as well. As she washed her hands in the basin of her ensuite she simply couldn't wipe the smile off her face at the idea that Sirius had not only paid attention to her comment about the Carbonara, but had gone to all the trouble of making it for her! As much as the calm, cool and collected voice in her head was telling her not to overanalyse, it was becoming rather difficult to keep from getting very, very optimistic.

When the girls re-entered the kitchen, the boys were already there. Remus was cracking open a bottle of wine while Harry and Sirius carted the garlic bread, pasta, sauce and parmesan, over to the table. When they all sat down it was with an air of anticipation of a very yummy dinner indeed. "Sirius, this looks awesome!" said Harry, his mouth already watering.

"I must say, I'm impressed cousin. It looks like we'll just have to let you cook for us more often." Tonks chimed in.

Hermione, having already expressed her sentiments about the chef's performance felt that gushing any more about it might seem a bit overdone. So she simply smiled and nodded her head in agreement with the other flying compliments.

Just before they dug in, Remus proposed a toast. "To the Master Chef, who'll no longer be able to fool anyone into believing he can't cook!" They all raised their glasses in unison and much clinking could be heard.

There wasn't a lot of chatter at the table for the next 20 or so minutes, as everybody was far too busy indulging in the delightful dinner. When they finally all got full – which for Harry wasn't for quite a while, the conversation did jump directly to the ball.

"So how did you two go at the shops this afternoon anyway?" Remus enquired, genuinely interested in any hints about what his beloved might be adorning herself in, the following evening.

"Successful on all fronts!" replied Hermione happily, and then Tonks chimed in to provide the details of their purchases, without giving away the actual appearances of the dresses. Harry was by far the most excited man at the table, owing to the fact that he hadn't seen his girlfriend in about 3 months and tomorrow night she'd be even more beautiful and happy than ever. Sirius wasn't far behind though, dreaming to himself about how breathtaking Hermione was bound to look, and already trying to think up his own plan of attack to secure even one dance with her – if she'd let him. Remus was both looking forward to spending the evening with all the people he loved most, and also being able to catch up with his former work colleagues in preparation for next year. Plus, when Harry, Hermione and co. graduated last year, he and Tonks weren't nearly as comfortable as they were now and everything else aside, he was quietly optimistic about making it a very romantic evening for her.

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Harry woke first on Saturday morning. He was going to try and fit in two sessions in the gym today, to make sure he looked his best for Ginny this evening. He had also arranged to head over to the Burrow after breakfast to finalise arrangements for tonight, and help Mrs Weasley prepare for Ginny's graduation party, which was set to kick off at lunch time tomorrow. He was so looking forward to what was sure to be the most fantastic weekend he'd had in a long time, that when Hermione wandered into the kitchen to get some cereal, he was already there, whistling while he read the paper. "Morning sunshine!" Hermione said happily when he looked up from his bowl of cornflakes.

"A very good morning to you Mione," he chirped. "Just so you know I'm heading over to the burrow in a little while to help set up for the party and everything. If you're at a loose end you'd be welcome to join us. I might ask Sirius as well, if he surfaces before I'm leaving."

After contemplating her schedule for a brief moment, Hermione said that she'd love to help and promised to eat and get ready as quickly as possible, so as not to hold Harry up. They both had just finished agreeing that they probably weren't likely to be joined by Sirius, when he came down the stairs and caught the end of the conversation. "I won't be up in time to do what did you say?"

Harry and Hermione both laughed at his timing, and Sirius too was invited to be part of the working party. Making no secret of the fact that he really did not have anything else to do, he thanked them for the offer and gratefully accepted the opportunity to be purposeful outside Grimmauld. He was well aware how much Harry would want Ginny's graduation weekend to be perfect, and was happy to lend a hand. The fact that Hermione was going to be there as well did make the whole activity sound all the more inviting.

So, at about 9:30, the three of them arrived in the fireplace at the Burrow, much to the delight of the Weasley clan. Mrs Weasley was overjoyed to have three times more help than she had anticipated, and her husband and sons were most relieved to know that they wouldn't have to do all the work themselves.

Harry, Ron and the twins were promptly set to task cleaning up the back garden, which was where the marquee was going to be set up. Mrs Weasley was in the kitchen, cooking one of the many, many dishes that she intended to serve, and supervising the jobs being done. Mr Weasley had the unenviable task of cleaning the bathrooms, to make sure they were fit for guests. This left Hermione and Sirius to be put in charge of the decorations; in the front yard to begin with, followed by some in the entrance of the house and living room, and when the backyard was clean, there too. They were of course each privately ecstatic about having a legitimate excuse to spend the day in each other's company, but were outwardly nonchalant about the whole thing.

They wasted no time getting started, as per their instructions; Sirius picked up the enormous box of decorations and followed Hermione out the front door. In true Hermione style she went into organisational autopilot and started straight away to plan out where everything should go and take stock of what decorations they had to work with. Sirius stood listening to her suggestions and instructions, but after a while he couldn't help but start chuckling at her. When she looked over at him, with a slightly perturbed expression on her face, he asked, "Are you going to come up for air soon Commander?" She burst into laughter and shook her head at how awfully bossy she must have sounded.

"Sorry Sirius, old habits die hard I'm afraid. I tell you what. Why don't I take care of the doorway and you take care of the front fence. That way I won't take away your creative license and I can be over here giving in to my unstoppable perfectionist compulsions?"

"I'm only joking. I didn't mean to make you feel bossy, I'm actually glad to have someone to tell me where to put these things," he held up a streamer in evidence, "because I really wouldn't know where to start." He smiled warmly at her, and she blushed a little at his thoughtful attempt to make her feel less self-conscious. "How about you just decide where you'd like everything to go, and I'll put them where you want them?"

Well I certainly know where I'd like you, Mr Black. Hmmm.

"Yeah, ok, that sounds like a plan. But if I get nauseating you feel free to just tell me to chill out ok?"

"Absolutely."

It turned out to be a very successful arrangement. They made light work of the front fence, decking it out in purple and silver balloons, with streamers and a big banner across the front that read, 'CONGRATULATIONS GINNY!' Conveniently enough there were even a couple of moments where the two decorators had to get quite close to one another to fasten items and keep everything in its rightful place. At one point they actually had to take a break after Hermione had been holding the banner down so that Sirius could hammer a nail in the corner of it, and in a case of direst necessity their two sets of arms had become entwined. Hermione almost let out an audible sigh when she felt the results of Sirius' new fitness regime through the sleeve of his sweater. He likewise had to stay squatting beside the fence for a while longer than what was required, to ensure that there was no visible irregularity in the front of his jeans. Neither of them could bear to look at the other as they entered the house afterwards for a drink and a biscuit, but anyone watching would have noticed that they were wearing bid old smiles on rather happy faces.

When they went back out to continue, they had calmed down considerably. Hermione started reminiscing about her own graduation, and Sirius was more than happy to listen to her reliving what were obviously some very happy moments. In return he also shared a story about his own graduation, which mainly centred on James and Lily. Apparently at that time Lily's parents were not at all keen on young master Potter and so she had to dance with Remus and Sirius as much as with her actual boyfriend in order to prevent her father from getting wise and making a scene. Of course being Marauders, Remus and Sirius couldn't help themselves but to make the whole experience even more infuriating for their good friend by periodically caressing Lily's back or moving their hands down further than they should have; all of which Lily found truly amusing because of the expressions appearing on her boyfriend's face. Hermione laughed at their antics and was glad to have heard a story about the young Sirius interacting innocently with a woman, as opposed to the others that she'd heard from Remus and Tonks over the years.

By the time the decorating was finished, which was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the two of them had learned a little more about one another, and again enjoyed the experience immensely. The decorations didn't look half bad either, according to a much-relieved Mrs Weasley, who was finally envisaging at least a mildly successful party. Hermione spent a little bit of time healing some wounds that the four boys had acquired while clearing all manner of things from the back yard, while Sirius helped Molly cleaning up in the kitchen. Before they knew it the time had arrived to get ready for the Ball, and Sirius, Harry and Hermione flooed back to Grimmauld each buzzing in anticipation of a stellar evening.

They all headed straight for their rooms and adjoined bathrooms, with about an hour on the clock before Tonks and Remus would arrive to travel to Hogwarts with them. Sirius was going to shave first before hopping in the shower. His new facial hair design was a much-abbreviated version of the former, requiring quite a bit of careful moulding, especially since he had already produced a five-o'clock shadow since yesterday morning. Harry was putting the finishing touches on a present he'd got for Ginny, before hopping in the shower himself, and Hermione considering the time-frame far too short for her liking, was already half way through her shower, being very efficient indeed.

Sirius had ended up deciding that he'd wear the green outfit that Tonks had fancied, sighting that it looked a bit more refreshing than black and burgundy. So he emerged from his bedroom at about a quarter to six, wearing grey trousers and a white shirt, with a jade coloured waistcoat undone at the front, carrying a matching tie in his hand and a grey cape on his arm. Harry was already pacing around the living room, in his own royal blue and black robes, as per Ginny's request. He flashed Sirius an approving smile when he saw him descending the stairs and with his eyebrows raised and his head nodding he announced, "Look out ladies, the Master of the House of Black is back!"

Sirius just laughed at him and replied, "When I put my mind to it, I can reasonably avoid looking frightening." The one thing Harry did suggest though was that his godfather let him help with his hairdo, because he considered the very nerdy looking comb-over that Sirius had done himself to be doing no justice at all to his otherwise flawless appearance. In a flash Harry had popped up to his room and returned with a plastic container of gel that he proceeded to use to mess up Sirius' hair on top so that it was standing up, more or less, on top of his head. It wasn't very long at all yet, so fortunately he didn't quite look like he'd been hit by lightning. Satisfied with Harry's adjustment the older man then went about fixing his tie in the mirror and buttoning up his waistcoat. He helped Harry put his cape on, and Harry returned the favour. So with about three minutes to spare, the two of them were completely dressed and ready and sitting on the lounge chair, waiting for Hermione to come downstairs and Remus and Tonks to arrive in the fireplace.

After making fun of the way that Harry was clearly so anxious about the evening, Sirius nearly had a heart attack when Hermione came down the stairs. Tonks and Remus had just arrived and Tonks was just about to go up and see if she could help, when Hermione's door opened and out she came. Sirius had never seen anything more breathtaking in his entire life. She was wearing a gorgeous green ball gown, not unlike the colour of his own outfit, which had a thin strap on either shoulder. The neckline of the dress sat quite low, giving the desired illusion of spectacular cleavage. The dress was covered in diamantes embroidered in the front and sat just below her knees, in a staggered pattern which betrayed different amounts of leg depending on the angle that it was viewed from. From Sirius' angle it was more than enough leg to require him to sit with his hands in his lap while everyone else had stood up. Luckily enough because everybody's attention was on Hermione, nobody had seen the colour drain from his face when he first clapped eyes on her. She was a little bashful herself about all the attention, so she just offered them all an inane smile and then moved straight towards the door. The Hogwarts Express was leaving from platform nine and three-quarters in approximately half an hour, and they would need at least twenty minutes to walk there, especially considering what the girls were wearing on their feet.

When he could stay seated no longer, Sirius hopped up and filed in behind everyone else, on purpose, trying to think of his mother, and the dentist and definitely not look at the goddess in emerald green who was just steps ahead of him, clinging to the arm of his godson.


	17. Chapter 17

Life Number Three

Chapter 17

_So, what is the appropriate way to behave at a Ball towards a much younger woman for whom you are __harbouring__ secret desires?_ That is exactly the question that Sirius was asking himself as he wandered down Grimmauld Place. He was still at the back of the small group, consisting of Remus and Tonks, Hermione and Harry, and himself. The object of his affections was a good four or five metres in front of him, leaning on Harry for support as she hurried along in her high heels. Remus held back a little and fell in beside him, but he didn't say a word and it was starting to unnerve his old friend.

"Go on, say whatever you want to say. Your sage advice, your pearl of wisdom; out with it Moony." Sirius said in a low tone. The others were out of earshot, but still they shouldn't be taking chances.

After a brief pause, as if gathering his thoughts in the right order, Remus replied. "Have you given much thought to how you're going to handle yourself tonight? There's going to be a lot of people there who know her, and a lot who know you, and a lot who know that both of you are close to Harry. I'm not saying you shouldn't do anything at all, on the contrary, I think she needs to know you're interested sooner rather than later, and tonight is the perfect opportunity. But just be warned that if it hits the fan, you'll never hear the end of it." Sirius gave him a pained look and nodded his head slightly. "You're not an idiot, you know all this already, but I wouldn't be a mate if I didn't remind you of these things." Remus was trying to be genuinely helpful and at the same time, stop his friend from doing anything that might backfire.

"Well thanks Moony, but unless you know someone who's written a guide book for this situation then I'm just going to be winging it. Don't worry, the last thing I want is to embarrass myself, or her for that matter, so there'll be no sudden movements or anything like that."

The group were closing in on the train station at that stage. Luckily they all looked muggle-enough in their formal attire not to arouse suspicion from nosey onlookers, but still, the sooner they were on that train, the better. Remus kept watch as they snuck through the wall onto the platform and there in front of them were hundreds of other Hogwarts families awaiting the same ride.

The Hogwarts Express came around the bend just moments later and they congratulated themselves on their very good timing. Remus was standing behind Tonks at that stage, with his arms wrapped around her, whispering something in her ear that she must have liked because she was smiling. Sirius turned at one point to look at them and just as he did, he noticed Hermione gazing at them, looking very much as though she thought it was the most romantic thing in the world. When she noticed Sirius was looking right at her she blushed a bright shade of red and turned to Harry who was on her other side, to talk about something or other of great urgency. Sirius just stood there, looking to the heavens for some sign as to what was going on inside her head.

When they were boarding the train, Remus and Tonks got on first amid a great crowd of people. Harry had seen the Weasleys heading towards them from down the platform further, so he was hanging back a little. Hermione climbed the step onto the train, but the woman in front of her suddenly swung back and before she knew it she was falling backwards. When she was firmly caught by a pair of strong arms behind her, she was so relieved, even if still a little shaken. She turned around to see Sirius standing behind her, looking a little nervous about where his hands were. She mouthed "thank-you", and smiled warmly at him, to which he tilted his head and smiled back. The line ahead wasn't moving at that stage, and encouraged by her apparent comfort he did not let go, lest she again fall victim to the ignorant woman in front. Hermione adored the way his hands felt on her waist. If the line hadn't moved she might very well have leaned back against him just to feel the warmth of his body behind her. Luckily though, as she knew that was completely inappropriate, the line did move and they wandered very slowly up the line of carriages, searching for Remus and Tonks. A couple of times Sirius' hand did once again fall protectively on her back, as they were shoved from one side or the other, and each time it sent a little shiver down her spine. Sirius meanwhile was revelling in the way that this situation was allowing barriers to be broken down left, right and centre. It had been a little awkward so far, what with the formal wear and the romantic atmosphere, but now he had even been able to hold her at one stage and it was completely above board. What's more is that she never swatted his hand away even once.

Remus' face lit up when he saw Hermione and Sirius appear together at the door of their carriage. Tonks noticed that her cousin had his hand on the small of the younger woman's back, and the cogs started churning again. _I'll have to watch him tonight I think._

They sat down next to one another, and when Harry arrived with Ron, having left the other Weasleys in a carriage just two doors down, Hermione had to move even closer to Sirius to allow Harry room to sit down. Conversation erupted about how very many people seemed to be going this year, and about what might be on the dinner menu. Hermione sat quietly; afraid to move, lest she bump something she shouldn't, or open her mouth and babble nervously. Sirius meanwhile was staring out the window, again trying to think about his mother or the dentist, and not the gorgeous young woman pressed up against his left side.

-------

It was a quick trip (quicker than usual thanks to a velocity charm from the Headmaster), although for certain occupants of the carriage it seemed to last forever. As they got up to exit, Sirius once again filed in behind Hermione and guided her down the line of passengers. Remus hailed a Thestral-drawn carriage and on they all hopped for the final leg of the journey.

"So Ron, preparations for the party tomorrow are almost complete I hear?" asked Remus.

"Yeah it looks pretty good actually. I don't remember Mum throwing a big party for any of the rest of us though." He looked a little despondent. Sirius had noticed since he'd been back that Ron seemed to be constantly emitting signs of serious middle-child syndrome. He couldn't see how Hermione would find this an attractive quality, and he hoped that she didn't.

When they disembarked from the carriage they met up with the Weasleys before going in. By this stage Harry was absolutely buzzing with desire to see his gorgeous girlfriend on her big night. When they entered the hall they came face to face with a predictably incredible sight. The room had been completely transformed into a ballroom. The big tables and their matching chairs were decked out in the Hogwarts house colours, the room divided into four distinct quarters. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and elegant candelabra centrepieces in the middle of each table. The Hogwarts house-elves were even all dressed up in black and white as they wandered the room, handing out drinks and finger-food.

As the large group stood there in the doorway, Ginny spotted them from where she'd been waiting on the other side of the hall, and before they knew it she was rushing over towards them, the biggest smile on her face. Not wanting to intrude, or step out of place, Harry waited for her to embrace her mother and father before cuddling her so tight she could barely breathe. He whispered, "you've no idea how glad I am to see you," into her ear lovingly, and she beamed back at him and unabashedly kissed him soundly on the lips. Arthur went all flushed and several of his sons could be heard uttering the word 'gross', but Molly looked ecstatic at this sign that Harry Potter was getting closer still to becoming one of the family.

Ginny held on to Harry's hand as she led them over to their table. All of their names were on place cards, so once they found their spot everyone sat down for a minute to look around and take it all in. The room was a buzz with movement. There was still fifteen minutes until the formalities would begin, and guests were continuing to stream through the big double doors. The first part of the evening would be quite formal, with graduation parchments being handed out, and a few speeches made. After that though there would be dinner and dancing, the bit that everyone was waiting for.

Hermione had also been waiting for this evening so that she could sit down and talk to Ginny about her romantic conundrum. As much as she was embarrassed about her unusual feelings, she did need to tell somebody, or it would eat her up inside.

Across the table from where Hermione and Harry were sitting on either side of Ginny, Remus and Sirius got up and announced that they were going to the bar to get drinks before everything started. The others all placed their orders. Fred and George asked for Sex on the Beach, which made everybody laugh, except for their mother who seemed to be hoping that they'd leave their childish antics at home just for one evening. Harry and Ron went with the two older men, partly to help them carry all the drinks, and partly just to see the look on the bartender's face when Remus asked for two lots of Sex on the Beach.

With the boys out of earshot, and the rest of the table engaged in other conversations, Hermione leant over to Ginny and confided that she had something she desperately needed to talk to her about. "Desperately hey, well this must be good. If it's quick you can shoot now while there's nobody here, either that or we'll have to sneak out after the ceremony?"

"It won't be quick. I've waited this long, so another hour shouldn't kill me."

"This long? How long is this long?"

"About four weeks."

"Wow this ought to be good and juicy! I'm impressed, four weeks. Bloody hell you must be nearly bursting."

"Well I'll guarantee you won't have seen it coming, that's for sure," was all Hermione managed to respond with, as the boys arrived back from the bar. Ginny and Hermione smiled appreciatively at the two older men as Harry came back to sit down and handed them their drinks. Hermione had gone with a non-alcoholic beverage, partly to keep Ginny company and partly to keep from getting any more flustered than she already was.

About five minutes later, Dumbledore officially commenced proceedings with another of his stirring speeches, which had Molly in tears and everyone else feeling strangely reflective. Following that there was the presentation of the official certificates as well as some special awards for outstanding members of the graduating class. Ginny was awarded a Godric Griffindor Medal of Courage for services in the defence of the school. Everyone at her table cheered loudly – almost embarrassingly so – when she stood up to receive her various bits and pieces. Again Molly was crying, actually sobbing this time. Arthur had apparently come prepared for this eventuality and promptly took out a calming draught for her to drink, and her composure was restored momentarily.

When dinner came out they were all awestruck by the feast before them. Harry, Ron and Hermione had not forgotten what a treat it was to sit down for a Hogwarts feast and the novelty had not warn off even after all these years. Arthur proposed a toast during the meal, 'to Ginny on her Graduation' and they all clinked their glasses. When Hermione looked at Sirius she was smiling broadly and he gave her a wink. As soon as he had, he decided that his next drink better be a lemonade since they hadn't even got to the dancing bit yet and apparently he was already quite chipper.

Everyone except Ron and the twins was actually quite reserved in their enthusiasm for the food in front of them, knowing all too well that dancing on a swollen stomach would not be comfortable or attractive. Dumbledore stood up from where he had been sitting, next to Professor McGonagall and announced that in the interest of everyone's constitutions, desert wouldn't be served for about another hour. He clapped his hands together and the dance floor started glittering in the middle of the room. He clapped them again and the orchestra at the side of the hall started playing a waltz. "For now, let the dancing begin!"

It was customary for the Graduates to have the first dance, if it please them. Harry wasn't the best dancer, but he could manage the waltz, and it made Ginny so very happy to be drifting around the dance floor with her 'boy-who-lived'. Had it not been for the calming draught, Molly would certainly have been bawling once again at this point, as she watched her grown-up baby being led around the dance floor by such a dashing young lad. Sirius was watching Harry proudly, relishing this opportunity to get some idea of the Graduation he missed out on seeing last year. Hermione caught a glimpse of him over the other side of the table, looking thoughtful and proud, with the faintest hint of the same near-jealousy that she herself had felt earlier. She cast her eyes back to the dance floor before he could catch her, but Remus had seen it, and when combined with a couple of other glances that he'd noticed here and there, he was beginning to wonder whether his old friend might be in luck after all.

When the song ended, everyone applauded and Harry and Ginny returned to their seats. As the orchestra broke into their next number there was much clattering of chairs and a buzz of conversation erupted. Sirius had every intention of going straight over to Hermione to ask if she'd like to dance, wanting to get in first before the Weasley boys and the various other people around the room who'd no doubt want to dance with the most beautiful girl at the ball. As he got up to move though, he saw Hermione and Ginny dashing towards the door laughing. If they hadn't looked so happy he would have been worried that something was the matter. As it was, his spirit was just a little dented by the fact that his plan had hit an unexpected obstacle. If women today were still the same as they had been all those years ago, then the two of them had probably snuck out to do one of the large number of things women seem to have to do in pairs. Like going to the bathroom, fixing their hair, or re-applying their make-up.

In fact it was none of the above. Ginny was simply chomping a the bit to hear Hermione's news, and Hermione was so desperate to have someone to talk to about it that that very moment seemed as good as any. If she'd realised that Sirius had been on his way over to ask her to dance, she would have burst out laughing at the irony of it all.

"So," Ginny started, "spill it, tell me everything, God it's been so long since I had some good juicy goss."

"Well, I don't know how juicy it is at the moment. Actually you'll probably think it's more like slimy, I'm afraid."

"Nonsense, it can't be that bad."

"Okay, so there's no point messing about. The thing is, I've got a massive crush on someone I shouldn't have."

"Oh dear, it's not Remus again is it? I thought you'd totally got over that. You and Tonks are great mates."

"No," she hissed, a little put-off that her friend would think she'd lapsed back into pining after a taken man.

"It's not Remus, guess again."

"Kingsley? I mean it's a bit far-fetched but he's just your sort; clever and powerful and all that."

"Wrong again, but you're really close. This one is powerful and clever too, it's just that he doesn't really show it, and you're in the right age bracket."

"A moment of realisation dawned on Ginny. Oh Mione, it's Sirius isn't it? Merlin, that's a bit out of the blue." The colour had drained from her face, which was an immediate concern for Hermione. She knew it was different, but she didn't think it was cause for that kind of alarm.

"So…..your thoughts on the matter then?"

"Well, she responded after taking a moment to think. " I mean he's gorgeous, and it sounds like he's changed a heap since he's been back. But are you sure this isn't just a sympathy thing or something, I mean you did spend a lot of time looking after him when he came back?"

"I thought that at first too, but it's not Gin. Every time I look at him my bloody heart races. Things have been a bit awkward but just lately we've been having these nice chats and sometimes I think I might see something there behind his eyes."

"I hope this isn't the first time you've heard this, but mum was saying the other day that everyone's sure he's got his eye on someone, because of his new haircut and some new fitness regime or something?"

"Yeah, I've heard that too, but I don't know, I haven't seen him with anyone, and he certainly hasn't mentioned it. Has Harry said anything?"

"Not a word, but then again Sirius might just be keeping it on the down low. Well I can't say it's traditional, but then that's probably not what you want me to say anyway. He's a nice enough guy, and hey if there's something there then go for it. Just prepare yourself for the fact that people are gonna have mixed reactions to it if anything does happen, and don't forget love that he used to have quite a reputation. So you should try and figure out whether whatever that is you see behind his eyes is for you, or for everyone in a skirt."

"Yeah well, I haven't got much to go on at this point. I'm as nervous as hell around him and if he asked me to dance tonight I think I'd faint. But I can't shake the feeling, you know. I've never felt this way about anyone else. Even if it amounts to nothing, I'm glad I've been able to tell you about it. I couldn't tell Tonks, she would have flipped, as it is I think she's suss."

"Well I'm going to keep a sharp eye on him and if I see anything you'll be the first to know. Other than that though, my lips are sealed."

"You're the best Gin."

"Yeah….." they both laughed. "Let's get back in there and burn up that dance floor!"

-------

Most of people in the room were dancing when Ginny and Hermione returned. Mr and Mrs Weasley were on the floor, and Fred and George had found themselves some unsuspecting partners as well. Remus and Tonks were lost in a lovers embrace as Harry, Ron and Sirius looked on from where they were sitting at the table. Harry would have loved to be giving his godfather some friendly words of encouragement, if it weren't for Ron beside him. He hoped Sirius would have the balls to ask Hermione to dance.

To everyone's surprise however, the first person to ask Hermione to dance was actually Ron himself. In her state of shock she accepted straight away and off they went to the dance floor. Ginny wanted to dance as well, but Harry was a bit reluctant to leave Sirius sitting there all by himself, especially when he'd have to watch his girl dancing with someone else. Sirius waved off his concern and told them to go and have fun. "I'll be fine….it looks like the queue's down at the bar anyway." He winked cheekily at them both and they made their way to the small spot of room next to Ron and Hermione.

Secretly though, Sirius really didn't enjoy seeing them all out there happy and dancing. Hermione was smiling and laughing a lot, considering she was dancing with someone she supposedly 'didn't like that way'. Sirius couldn't help shake the feeling that this was the way it was meant to be. He was a lot older than her after all, and perhaps she belonged with someone from her own crowd. Before he could check himself he was staring at her, looking admiring and forlorn at the same time. Ginny nearly got the wobbles when Harry spun her around and she could see Sirius' expression painted plainly on his face. She couldn't help but gasp, "oh my God, he likes her too!" She'd meant for it to be an internal thought, but apparently Harry had heard it too, and immediately became curious as to who she was talking about. When he spun her around again he saw it for himself. He felt like throwing something at his godfather to snap him out of it before anyone else noticed. Then he thought for a moment about the exact words that had come out of his girlfriend's mouth, "did you just say 'he likes her too'?" Ginny felt quite awful that Hermione's secret had stayed safe with her for all of five minutes, but he sounded more intrigued than somebody who knew nothing, and she could rarely keep secrets from Harry anyway. She nodded meekly, and Harry's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "When did you find out about this?"

"About five minutes ago, out in the corridor."

"Oh Merlin, Gin this is just bizarre. I mean it's great, but it's really bizarre. You know he got his haircut and everything just to try and impress her? So she likes him hey? Well that's a bloody relief."

Ginny was still trying to process everything she'd learned in such a small amount of time when she saw Tonks storming over to Sirius and ordering him outside, as discreetly as something like that can be done. Remus was behind her, seemingly trying to calm her down and warn Sirius about the impending onslaught. The three of them were outside in seconds and Ginny and Harry were left to add this to the growing list of complications.

"Tonks has been suss on him ever since he started fixing himself up. I don't think she saw this one coming though." He was whispering this in her ear to make sure things didn't get overheard. Every so often Ron and Hermione would appear alongside them and that could really stuff things up. Ron was never going to react well to this one. Luckily, as Ginny smiled at Hermione dancing past, she looked oblivious to the recent incident and she and Ron seemed to be having a laugh about something.

Harry moved himself and Ginny a little further away from their friends so that he could continue to pursue their line of conversation. Ginny was the first to speak though. "I hope she's not being too hard on him out there. His eyes looked kind of sad seeing Mione dancing with Ron. I'd believe that he's really fallen for her. And it totally sounds like she has for him. You never know, they could be perfect for each other. It's not like either of them has got any better offers right now anyway. I mean, the Viktor thing was never going to last, and he can't possibly be wanting to do the skirt chasing thing again this time around."

"No, I don't think he does. He seems quite committed to doing things properly actually. I mean it'll be a bit weird if they stat dating or something, but hey what the hell. I can't be denying anyone else their happiness when I've got my own right here." He looked into her eyes and smiled. She leant up to kiss him tenderly. Forgetting for a moment that there was anyone else in the room at all.

-------

Meanwhile, out in the corridor, things were far from pleasant. Tonks was berating Sirius in a soft voice, so as not to cause a scene among passers by. Remus at this stage was just standing there for moral support, although for whom he didn't know.

"She's like half your age cousin. What are you doing? She's not one of those floozies from down at the pub, she's Hermione. She's one of Harry's best friend's for Merlin's sake."

Sirius was starting to tire of being spoken to like some kind of irrational juvenile, but just as he was about to roar at her Remus stepped in. "Actually darling Harry already knows, and he's fine about it. He's happy if they're happy, and all that." He was treading carefully, not wanting to perturb anybody, and trying desperately to keep the peace. "I can see why you're concerned, and Hermione could very well not be interested anyway, but we when all is said and done, it's not doing anyone any harm just seeing where it goes."

"Thank you for trying to help Remus, but I think I'd like to have a crack at standing up for myself now. I don't know why this has suddenly become a topic for discussion en mass, but my own private affairs are best kept exactly that, private. Tonks, I knew you'd balk at this idea, and so I didn't tell you. I would have thought that you'd notice how genuinely I am trying to start afresh. This thing that I'm feeling for Hermione, who knows what it is? But I think it's a bit unfair for anyone to tell me I can't feel it just because it makes them uncomfortable. You don't think I realise that this is a bit unconventional? I'm not an idiot. I know who I am and I know who she is. Just leave it be, and trust me to handle it the right way ok? As you can see, I haven't done anything ridiculous yet. So just have a little faith in me."

Tonks looked at him a bit sceptically still, but mainly apologetically. Truthfully she was ashamed of how she'd flown off the handle at him without hearing his defence, but she wasn't one to admit it, so she simply nodded her head at him and left to go back inside. He knew she wouldn't say anything. Remus patted him on the shoulder and said, with the slightest hint of a smile, "well that's probably the worst part done with now Pads. It's all downhill from here." Sirius was still a bit rattled to properly smile back at him, but there was a slight curling of the edges of his mouth, that satisfied Remus enough to return to the ballroom himself.


	18. Chapter 18

Life Number Three

Chapter 18

When Sirius had regathered following the dressing-down that Tonks gave him, he headed back into the hall, satisfied that he had at least convinced her to trust that his intentions towards Hermione were honourable. Meanwhile, he still hadn't even been able to find the right moment to ask her to dance with him. As he approached his seat once more he scanned the dance floor, only to see that now Hermione was in fact dancing with Harry.

_Right, this is my chance. Harry should let me cut in, but if I don't go now and Ron comes back I'll have no hope._

Sirius took the last mouthful of the drink that was in front of him and then darted off in the direction of the dance floor. Harry and Hermione were not quite in the middle of the crowd, but they certainly weren't easily accessible, so Sirius just stood at the side, leaning against a high table, and waited to catch Harry's attention. As he was waiting there his nerves started to kick in and he was worrying about how his dancing would be after all these years, and hoping beyond anything that Hermione hadn't seen what others obviously had, earlier when he was watching her.

When Harry spotted his Godfather standing a little way back, he gradually led Hermione to the side of the dance floor, making an excuse up about how he needed to go to the bathroom. He purposely didn't point Sirius out to Hermione, but rather pretended to bump into him on their way past. Hermione had been smiling broadly, she was having a great night, but on sight of Sirius her face became unreadable. So much so that when Sirius looked at her he thought about forgetting his dancing plans to go and sit back down. She wasn't trying to put him off, not at all, it's just that her nerves were coming out in the form of what looked like trepidation on her face, and it was doing nothing for the older man's confidence.

Harry knew what his role was here, he had to get them dancing and remove himself without being too transparent about his intentions. Short and simple was the way to go he figured, then it would all seem totally uncontrived.

"Sirius, what good timing! I have to head to the gents, which means that Hermione's in need of a new dance partner." Then as he turned to the woman beside him, "Watch out Mione' apparently Sirius used to really burn the floor up." Before either Sirius or Hermione could get a word in, Harry was off in the direction of the door, and there they were, just the two of them.

_Right Black, it's now or never for that charm._

"You know, the average quality of the dancing out there dropped dramatically when you two came off the floor." He gestured in the direction of a couple of bumbling graduates who looked like they'd both be off to the hospital in the morning with broken feet, and he got a chuckle out of Hermione for his efforts. "We better get you back on there hey, so you can show them what it's supposed to look like?"

Hermione couldn't suppress the blush that crept over her cheeks, but in her modesty she replied with, "Well it must have been Harry's doing I think, because I'm really not that good. I hardly get any practice these days."

"We'll see about that." Was all Sirius said as he gently took her hand and led her back to the edge of the dance floor, carefully positioning them so that they would be as secluded as possible from any prying eyes. Hermione took his hand and followed, making a conscious effort not to hold it as tightly as she might like.

The first part was definitely going to be the most awkward, Sirius had decided, so rather than fumble around and allow them both to get nervous about their proximity and the precise location of their hands, he simply took a gentle hold of her waist and grasped her other hand in his, as though it was the most casual thing in the world to do. Hermione placed her left hand on his shoulder, almost like an automatic reaction – she was so glad he had taken the lead with a bit of authority, because if it had of been left to her, she might not have remembered where her hands even needed to go.

Her nerves did catch up with her eventually though, the first time she stomped on his foot she was absolutely horrified and apologised with much more enthusiasm than was needed. "Don't worry I've got another one, and then a few spares in a chest at home actually, so it's fine really." He said with a grin, trying to make her more comfortable, if only so that she'd stay there with him a little longer. Sirius found her nerves both endearing and comforting; little did she know that his heart was almost beating right out of his chest. That comment from him did calm her down, and after a while she thought it might be safe to strike up a conversation, lest they get caught in a very long and equally awkward silence. Sirius hadn't got so far as to even notice that they weren't talking. He had congratulated himself on the job he'd done getting them out there and dancing, but after that he was concentrating so hard on how amazing she felt in his arms, and remembering how to waltz, that he was oblivious to everything else.

"Are you having a nice night? It must have been ages since you've been to a Ball?" She leaned in a little and asked just loudly enough for him to hear her over the music and surrounding chatter. When she'd moved closer to him it caught his attention and he listened carefully to her question so as to produce a sensible reply.

"Yes, I'm having a lovely time. Any chance to come back to Hogwarts is a pleasure. I really do love it here…………………. And in answer to the second part of the question, the last time I went to a ball was my own graduation would you believe?" He purposely did not make a reference to exactly how many years had passed since then.

She smiled sweetly at him and went on, "Has it changed much?"

"Outside yes……………. but inside everything is exactly as I remember it. Grand and magical." He looked up to the roof in admiration as he spoke.

Hermione had relaxed considerably by that stage and was now in casual conversation mode as evidenced by her next comment, that possibly wouldn't have come out if she was still only thinking about who she was dancing with.

"Speaking of changes, your haircut looks fantastic. I think the shaggy style used to make you look a bit old and crazy. This suits you much better; you look young and sophisticated now." She smiled, not meaning her comment as a joke at all, but hoping he might get some humour out of it.

As much as Sirius hated drawing attention to his age, and how far away from hers it was, he was incredibly heartened and encouraged by her compliment. "Well I was going for young and cheeky," he flashed her a grin, "but I suppose sophisticated is even better, and it will probably give me more of an edge with prospective employers. I'm not sure 'cheeky' rates very highly in their books."

If Sirius kept on like this he was going to have a melted Miss Granger on his hands. Bringing up employment in the same sentence as his haircut was pushing all the right buttons, whether he realised it or not. If he mentioned a desire to get married and have children any time soon he might well be making a trip to the emergency room this evening.

Their conversation continued for the next couple of songs and as Hermione relaxed more she found herself drawn ever so slightly nearer to him in his embrace. She wasn't complaining in the least; he smelled fabulous, he looked fabulous, he felt fabulous and he seemed quite content to be dancing with her. The very last thing that either of them wanted was for Dumbledore to stand up and call dessert time. Sirius knew that this was probably drawing near….._it'd want to be pretty bloody good dessert!_

Earlier on, Ginny had pointed out to Hermione a girl called Elsbeth Winter, apparently the most beautiful girl in the Senior Class, and bound to have the attention of all the men in the room at one point or other in the evening. Hermione noticed that the girl was just a few metres away from where she and Sirius were dancing and couldn't help but make a comment.

"Goodness, that girl must be part Veela. I think the boy dancing with her is actually in some sort of trance. Look at his eyes for Merlin's sake."

Sirius chuckled at the remark and turned to see what all the fuss was about. Hermione wasn't sure she wanted him to actually, but she could do little to prevent it now that she'd opened her mouth.

"Well would you look at that? He really does look zombified by her doesn't he? I hadn't even noticed her until now." He genuinely hadn't, for obvious reasons.

"Oh go on, surely the once infamous Sirius Black can't help but feel some desire to dance with the most beautiful belle at the ball?"

Sirius knew in that moment that what he said in reply to this question would make or break his evening. There he was, with the girl who'd recently invaded all his dreams in his arms, holding on to him and every bit at ease in their conversation. She turned back to look at him with a smile and a glimmer in her eyes. She wasn't trying to trap him, or challenge him, or anything like that. In fact she was having a wonderful time and was otherwise oblivious of the possible implications of her comment.

He mustered up all of his courage and with slightly shaking hands spun them around so neither of them could see the girl anymore. In one swift movement he gently pulled her closer so that his lips were almost touching her ear and said ever so softly, "You're right of course. Except…………I'm already dancing with her."

Luckily for the both of them, he wasn't expecting a response, because Hermione was in no state to give one. In fact he'd be happy as long as she didn't throw up at the thought of him thinking about her that way. Funnily enough, Hermione wasn't all that far from throwing up, but for completely different reasons.

She had no idea what to say. She could no longer hear the music or any of the surrounding noise, just the blood rushing around her head and a merciless thumping in her chest. Her feet were on autopilot as they continued to dance in that slow, steady rhythm with his. She knew she had to let him know that his words were appreciated though, and that they truly meant something to her. So she composed herself enough to softly but unmistakably nestle her head into the space between his neck and shoulder, wrapped her right arm around him properly, and moved her other hand onto his chest.

His heart was pounding and he just knew that she'd be able to feel it right through his shirt. Still, he wouldn't disturb her for anything right now, so instead he covered her hand with his. Whatever she felt there, she didn't seem to mind, because she was as close as she could get to him on the dance floor and Sirius could tell from the feel of her mouth on his neck that she was smiling.

They did spend the rest of the song in silence, but it wasn't awkward in the least. In fact Hermione would later describe the experience to Ginny as the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her. At the end of it, neither one was paying attention when Dumbledore did get up and announce that dessert would be served momentarily. They were woken from their blissful ignorance only when the other dancers started vacating the dance floor en mass. Sirius would have held her there all night if he could, but it clearly wasn't to be, so he said softly, "thank you for the lovely dancing. I hope we can do it again." Hermione smiled when she looked up at him, and gazed just briefly into those incredible grey eyes. She was very unimpressed about having to remove her head from the crook of his neck, but she was allowing herself to entertain the thought that he was probably just as disappointed.

"It was the best dance I've had all night Sirius. So thank you." _Best dance I've had ever, more like!_

Sirius continued to hold her hand in his as he led them off the floor and delivered Hermione back to her seat.


End file.
